Finding that Holiday Spirit
by Animation Universe 2005
Summary: The kung-fu masters are celebrating christmas, but Arizona lost his spirit. Will Musaki and the masters help him find it? Dedicated to Joe 'Po' Navark! Happy holidays!
1. Arizona's Loss of Spirit

Decided to make another christmas fic and Musaki is in it as well. This has been on my brain since Thanksgiving and so far Arizona has experienced Halloween and Thanksgiving for the first time and here is one challenge to tackle; celebrating Christmas. This fic is inspired by Wonder Panda Tan-Tan's fic 'The Christmas Spirit' and it's also a special early christmas gift for my best friend, Joe 'Po' Navark. Hope you like it!

Imagine Musaki trying to find a way to give Arizona something he lost or never had...finding a Christmas spirit. Joe 'Po' Navark, I hope this will be the best one I've written and best one you've read. Enjoy!

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><p>Finding that Holiday Spirit<p>

by: Terrell James

Chapter 1: Arizona's Loss of Spirit

It was five days before Christmas in the Valley of Peace and everyone is very excited about this holiday season and as the snow falls down, it can only mean that there's tons of joy and happiness surrounding everyone in the valley.

At the Jade Palace, the kung-fu masters were ready to deck this entire palace up with many things Christmas-y. Po and Musaki offered to help out by putting in this huge reef into the wall near the Moon Pool and by holding it, Musaki could immediately tell that it's like carrying Po, only unmovable. They eventually got it up there and Po started panting heavily and breathing loudly while Musaki just felt a little exhausted and Po said, "Wow, that was really heavy."

Musaki looked up at Po and he lets out a slight chuckle and said, "Heavy is an understatement. It felt like I was carrying you."

Suddenly, Shifu came in to see what the reef looks like and as he was looking, he could kinda see it in a different angle and told them, "Is it in a straight line?"

"Yes, Master Shifu." Po replied.

He wanted to make it look really good, but it's already looking good and he told them to gather up the Five to decorate the tree. Minutes later, they already decorated it fast and furious. Tigress quickly puts the tree up on the ground and then Viper and Crane fiercely rolled around the lights and set them in, Monkey threw in some ornaments and chucked them in the tree and Mantis spun some knickknacks in them as well and Musaki puts the star on top and Po just gathered up some candy canes...and ate some of them.

"Pepperminty..." Po said, happily.

Musaki rolled at his at Po and snatches the canes away from him and he said, "They're for decorating, not eating."

"Aw, no fair, Lil' Saki!" Po pouted.

They suddenly turned on the lights in the tree and they all let out some 'oohs' and 'ahhs' as they gaze into the decorations. Crane chuckled and said, "Well, that looks like Christmas to us."

"You said it." Musaki added.

Later on, Musaki got his winter clothes on; his blue scarf and green and blue spotted winter hat to take a look at the snow at the Sacred Peach Tree and when he got to the top of the hill, he was surprised to see that Arizona was just sitting there alone. That's when he noticed that something was on his mind and something was up with him. Feeling concerned for him, he walks towards him and he asked, "Kinda cold today, huh?"

Arizona looks up and he sees Musaki just standing there and he kinda kept silent for a while and turned his attention back to watching the snow fall. He could tell that there was something Musaki didn't know that much about the young wolf. He always knew that he's had some issues in his life, but in this case, there was one that grew a lot deeper.

He sat down next to him and he asked, "So...are you excited for Christmas?"

Arizona sighed heavily and just scratched the back of his head and replied, "Not really."

Musaki was immediately shocked to hear what Arizona just told him that he's really not excited about Christmas and he asked, "What do you mean not really?"

"Just...not really up for it." Arizona replied.

Musaki did not know how to respond to that and he knew that there might be a reason why he wasn't into the holidays and asked, "Why?"

Arizona looked at him and replied, "Well, I just don't understand why people are so happy all the time over this holiday."

"Because it's the time to celebrate being around family and friends and the people you care about." Musaki added, with a smile.

Arizona was completely hesitant to even give Musaki a reason why he wouldn't celebrate with everyone else because he's been living in the Jade Palace for a few months now, but is still having trouble adjusting when it comes to the holidays because most of the times he spent was in that tower back at Kong Wolf City and he turned away from him for a while and just tolf him, "I just don't feel like celebrating the holidays, that's all."

Musaki wanted to know more about it and he asked, "Where's your holiday spirit?"

Arizona looked confused on that one and he asked, "What holiday spirit?"

That one question immediately made sense that Arizona has never celebrated Christmas before in his life nor does he remember celebrating it at all. It shocked him deep into the core that he's never had a holiday spirit before and he just felt completely sorry for him and he then asked, "You've never celebrated Christmas before, haven't you?"

It made Arizona want to just put a wall when it comes to something personal in his life, but he wouldn't think of putting one on Musaki already and he just said nothing and looked down on the ground an he replied, "I wouldn't want to be a bother to you guys anyway. I'm just...new here and I wouldn't want to dampen your spirit anyway. What I would do is just walk around, maybe look for a few books and call it a day, I guess."

Musaki felt a little sad knowing that Arizona wouldn't even participate in something wonderful as the holiday season and he just knew he had to think of something to help him gain his holiday spirit. He sighed heavily and didn't quite know what else to say and the only thing he could do is not force him to join them, but then again he knows he wants to bring him in the joy of the holidays. Arizona got up and he just walks back to the palace with his head hanging down leaving Musaki feeling a little helpless knowing that there might be nothing he can do to help Arizona in any way.

But what's most distressing for him...how will he break the news to Shifu, Po and the rest of the Five?

Later on, Musaki explained everything to the others and within that time period, all of them could do is just look at each other with a shocked and speechless expression that Arizona is gonna miss out on spending the holidays with them. No one was more shocked-albeit furious-about that news other than Tigress as she just pounded her fist hard and said, "There is no way that Arizona will miss out on this holiday!"

Musaki could sense her anger level boiling to the maximium degree like she wants to fight him, but he told him, "We just want to help him, not put him in a holiday death match."

The rest of them didn't know what to think of as they had great concern over this. Viper looked at Musaki and asked him, "Is there any reason?"

"I tried, but he just wouldn't say anything about it." Musaki replied.

"Well whatever the reason is, we've got to help him in every which way possible." Shifu said, in great concern.

Musaki sighed deeply and wanted to help him in any way possible and he just told them, "Are you sure about this? I mean, I think I might handle this by myself."

Crane looks up at him and he asked, "What will you do?"

Musaki thought this over and he kinda didn't know what he was gonna do at this point, like he's completely running out of options. He sighed heavily and replied, "I really don't know."

"Well you gotta think of something!" Tigress snapped.

Po clears his throat and discovers that Tigress might unravel in any second and he told her, while gritting his teeth, "Not helping..."

Then, all of a sudden...an idea struck Musaki out of nowhere and he immediately said, "I think I know now. What if...I was to give Arizona a christmas present? Maybe that might get him in the spirit."

Shifu was suddenly impressed about Musaki's idea and he said, "Brilliant idea, Musaki. Maybe you can give him a gift to show how much you appreciate him."

"I will most likely do that. I just gotta figure out what he likes."

Viper kissed him in the cheek an told him, "That's really sweet of you to help your friend out. That's what we all like about you."

Musaki chuckled softly while he was rubbing his cheek and sees everyone in smiling faces...except for Tigress. He rolled his eyes and asked, "Let me guess, you're not keen about this idea, aren't you? That's why you're not smiling, isn't it?"

"I am smiling. This is my happy face." she said.

He looked at her happy-less expression and he asked, "Where is it? Because that looks like the ugliest happy face I've ever seen."

Tigress suddenly clenched her fist and pounded on the table again and she said, "What does it matter?"

"You're not really a happy person...or any emotional person for that matter."

She wanted to just fight him and tried to just lunge at him, but Po calmed her down by putting his hand on hers and she gained her cool down and said, "Sorry."

But then she actually smiled at him and then said, "Great idea."

Musaki shook it off and just accepted it and said to her, "I think you're one of the reasons why I think you're so uncool...and I just proved my point."

Po gasped at that comment and he asked, "Why do you say that?"

"Because...she has no heart, no emotions and definitely runs away from true feelings to keep her hardcore persona from the others."

The rest of the Five did not know that and Crane was the only one that dropped his beak as they stared at her in surprise and Musaki was surprised to know that they never knew that and Tigress felt like she was gonna snap at him for unveiling her true nature in front of everyone and Viper asked, "Is that true, Tigress?"

Tigress didn't say anything and stared at Musaki in an angry way and by that note, Musaki could tell that it was time for him to exit out of the room. As he made his way through the hall and into his room, he had Arizona on his mind and just wanted to help him out in any way possible.

"Don't worry, Zona. I'll get you your holiday spirit. I promise." Musaki said, to himself.

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><p>I honestly don't know where Musaki telling Tigress about her hardcore wall came from. Little out of subject, sorry about that. But this is a good start, right? Will Musaki help Arizona find his lost spirit in time for Christmas? One way to find out...keep reading!<p> 


	2. Finding a Gift

So...what does Musaki do in this situation? Find a gift for Arizona for Christmas.

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><p>Chapter 2: Finding a Gift<p>

The next day, he goes around the Valley to find something for Arizona to give him for Christmas after that short conversation he had with him back at the Sacred Peach Tree that he's never felt the holiday spirit before. He definitely felt his pain because he used to be in the same boat as he is about missing out on the holidays, but it all changed the second he was adopted in the Jade Palace and that he'll enjoy the holiday in whatever possible.

He stops into a little store where they sell a lot of antique items, hoping to find something that will symbolize their friendship. He looks all over the store to see if there's something that would pique his interest and only 5 minutes in and he doesn't know which one to give Arizona.

He sighed heavily and became a little troubled to find that perfect gift that would suit him. He began thinking to himself, 'What does he like? What would be the gift that would show our friendship?'

He just couldn't wrap around the fact that Arizona would miss out on Christmas because he never had a real Christmas before. That almost got to him and he wishes that he could do something to help him out.

Just then, he sees a section that has a lot of things involving 'friendship.' He looks over at the shelves and he sees a little necklace that had the chinese symbol for it. Then, he looks around and sees that there are several more little trinkets surrounding the place. The only dilemma-which one would fit his interest.

"Hey, Saki!"

Just then, Musaki looks over and he sees his cousin Phoenix coming in. After a quick hug and a secret handshake, he asked, "How ya doing, cuz?"

"Great! You?" Phoenix asked, joyfully.

"Awesome, man. What brings you here?"

Phoenix sighs happily and he replied, "Just doing some Christmas shopping. Just me, Cody and Tsunami buying gifts for our new brothers."

Hearing this, Musaki felt overjoyed that his cousin's doing something for his new cousins and that he's willing to do anything for them. He sighed happily and he said, "I'm doing the same thing for Arizona."

"Sweet. How is he?"

"Fine, I guess. Everyone else?"

"I wish I could say the same."

Musaki could see Phoenix's mood change and suspects that something's up. He then asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"Well...Max has kinda told me that he doesn't want to celebrate the holidays with us this year because he told me he never felt the holiday spirit before and just lost it. I was really devastated to actually hear that coming from a person who's been through a lot."

Musaki was a little shocked to hear that Max wouldn't celebrate the holidays with his new family, but not surprised that it was a similar situation that he's dealing with. He then told him, "That's nothing compared to Arizona. He told he the exact same thing, but never gave me a reason why."

Phoenix was completely wide-eyed about this and he said, "Did he explain?"

"Not even close. He just stayed quiet." Musaki answered.

Phoenix sighed heavily and felt completely sorry for him and Musaki told him, "So I just decided to just give him a gift so that he'll know that I care that much for him."

"I'm doing the same thing for Max. The only problem is...what does he like?" asked Phoenix.

Both of them could see that this is gonna be a hard decision to make for themselves, but decides the best way is to just do whatever it took to find what is the greatest gift. And he sees that necklace with a chinese symbol for friendship and thought that it would be a great one, so he picks it up and thought that it'll be a great gift for Arizona. He then shows it to Phoenix and he could immediately see that it means something and he said, "It's one of those chinese symbol necklaces, right?"

Musaki looked at him with shock and asked, "How'd you know that?"

"My dad's friend makes these and then sells it here as a gift for a friend or family member. Usually, he lets me see it before it even hits the store and it's like...maybe I can get some of these one day." Phoenix explains.

Musaki immediately knew that this would be it and then, with Max in Phoenix's mind, he told him, "Maybe you should give him the same thing too."

It was like an idea popped out of his head and then, he said, "You're a genius, Saki."

Then, he turns around and sees another chinese symbol necklace that says 'brotherhood' and shows it to Musaki and looked completely happy with that choice and he said, "I think Max will like it."

"I hope so." Phoenix said, with a sigh.

They both paid for the necklaces-separately-and then went out of the store and talked about those. Minutes later, Phoenix tells him thanks and 'see you later' and goes off one way and Musaki walks another way and while he was heading back to the palace, they see Po, Tigress and Monkey take down the croc bandits stealing some presents from one of the houses.

Musaki rolled his eyes at this and just said, "All before Christmas? Really?"

He was determined to help them out, so he comes in and while they were running, they were stopped by Musaki by freezing them and tripped on their legs all while Tigress beat up two other croc bandits with her moves and Po's belly to push them down. It was Monkey and Musaki versus the lead bandit and Monkey kicked him in the head and when the croc leader tried to fight back, Musaki went in and just kicked him in the face.

The croc growls and tried to catch him, but he didn't see where he was going and then...

Musaki got under his legs and raised his head hard and it hit the lead croc in his sensitive parts. He lets out a squeaky groan and falls down to his knees, holding his crochood saying in a high squeaky voice, "Darn it..."

Then, Musaki got all the gifts and gives it to the others and retrieved it back to the villagers. Tigress then looked at the croc bandits and said, "How low can you bandits get?"

"It was all Fung's idea." one croc bandit said.

Fung groaned in pain, still holding his crochood and he said, "Gah-ri, you're such a big mouth! Besides, who cares about Christmas anyway?"

Hearing this provoked shock for them, including Musaki and he said, "Dude...lowlifes like you don't even know how Christmas works obviously. And you have to steal other people's gifts? That is just wrong."

Then, Musaki kicks him in the face and the rest of them tied the bandits up and Po said, "Hope you have a Christmas in Chor-Gom prison."

They all went back to the palace and Monkey definitely praised Musaki for kicking Fung in the lower parts with his head and he said, "Musaki...that is using your head, man!"

They both gave each other a high-five and laughed together and Po asked, "So...where ya been?"

"Found a gift for Arizona. I'm gonna give it to him until Christmas." Musaki replied.

"Ooooh...can I see it?"

Musaki chuckled softly and replied, "Nope."

Po whined loudly and all Tigress could do is just laugh and roll her eyes as they made their way back to the palace. Musaki thought to himself, 'I hope Arizona likes this.'

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><p>Decided to just have the croc bandits make an appearance in this fic. Who doesn't love 'Legends of Awesomeness?' BTW, Kung Fu Panda 2 comes out on DVD tomorrow! Also, if you missed the Kung Fu Panda Holiday Special last year, it re-airs this year; starting tomorrow at 6:305:30 pm central and Wednesday at 5/4 pm on ABC Family. Record it if you must! Third chapter...is coming up!


	3. Increasing Worry

Even in the holidays, here's the reason why it has an 'angst' label.

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><p>Chapter 3: Increasing Worry<p>

As soon as they got home, Musaki went to his room and decided to just gift-wrap Arizona's present, knowing full intact that he's never had the holiday spirit before and is willing to be determined to find it for him. Seconds later, he wrote a little note on top of it, hoping that it'll show that he cares so much for him and wants to give him the best holiday he can give him.

Then, he puts it under his mat and then just laid down in there, just looking up at the ceiling. His worry for Arizona has increased a lot because he understands what it feels like to be around people he barely knows and also celebrating it for the first time, though not fully over the years prior. He looks back on all the times he celebrated Christmas with his new family over the course of 3 years and helping out people who had no experience of it that set foot in the Palace.

He looks up at his little teddy bear that his mother gave to him as a present when he was a cub and those memories began to re-play in his head around those happy times and then he held on to it and just hugged it...as tightly as ever.

He sets it down and immediately after, he hears a knock on his door and he said, "Come in."

The second the door opens, he sees Arizona standing there. He sighed heavily as the young wolf scratched the back of his neck and asked, "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure." Musaki replied.

Arizona came in the room and he sat down on the ground near Musaki's mat and somehow, silence just filled the air. Normally, Musaki would just say a few things and Arizona would just listen but after he broke the news that he never celebrated the holidays before, it was like he ran out of words. Musaki let out a heavy sigh and looked at Arizona for a minute and he asked, "What's on your mind?"

"Did I...make you feel upset?" Arizona asked, nervously.

Musaki turns to him and he stared at him in the eyes with confusion and surprised and he asked, "Upset? About what?"

Arizona turned away for a bit and then look at him again as he scratched the back of his neck and said, "When I told you I've never celebrated the holidays before, I felt as if what I said kinda upset you."

Musaki exhaled deeply and he replied, "Nah, you didn't make me upset. Just...shocked, actually. You've never really celebrated the holidays before?"

The young wolf exhaled deeply as he explained to him about his reasons, but kept his real reason really personal to him and said, "I just...in all the years I spent in Dai Ling's tower, I would often see everyone just have fun on the holidays and I kinda lost touch with that and instead, I would feel miserable. Often times, other villagers would be miserable during this time of year because of the way those wolf comrades treat them. I've never fully understand what it really meant for me."

At that moment, Musaki's heart definitely hurts for Arizona because he can relate to him so easily because he used to miss out on the holidays until he was 14. He looks at him and said, "Dude, I feel the same way."

Arizona's ears perked up when he heard what he said and he was definitely curious to know why.

Musaki took a deep breath and he said, "When I was a young cub, I always loved the snow and me and my mom would just catch it, make snow angels and stuff like that and this feeling of celebrating this time of year with my parents...it was always something that I cherished...that is until that fateful day of 8/15-the day my parents got killed by Tai Lung when I was three. It was a hard time for me and since then, winter wasn't my favorite season anymore because I would often sit in my isolated room by myself, feeling the cold coming down my spine, which adds to my depression. In a shocking twist, every memory I had about Christmas...was forgotten. I would often get some gifts, but it wouldn't give my parents back, so I kinda understood how it feels like why is the holidays always a happy occasion."

Arizona didn't quite know how to react after Musaki told him that story and he asked, "What made you re-celebrate it again?"

"Well...I was only 14 and during the time I lived here, everyone in the palace was set up for Christmas and I wasn't sure if I could celebrate it with them...until something kinda change my perspective. One of my friends-Jo, spent the holidays with me along with Ichi, Fu and Kaguya. Then, memory lane struck when I actually saw myself as a little cub celebrating Christmas with my parents and they gave me a teddy bear. It really helped me re-gain all of my holiday spirit back and I've been celebrating it ever since. Most of the Five, Po and Shifu are kinda like family to me and they would always help me for whenever around this time. It's because of them I got my holiday spirit back."

Arizona looked at Musaki and he was speechless to hear something like that and all he could say was, "Wow..."

"And I want to help you do the same." Musaki added.

He puts his hand on Arizona's shoulder and at that moment, he could feel the same amount of pain that Musaki had for losing memories of something really good and then, he had small hope that it might be regained. He then stared at him and he said, "I really appreciate what you've done for me these past couple of months...but I'm still not sure if I want to celebrate with you guys."

Musaki wanted to help him find his spirit, but wasn't sure what. He asked, "Well, what can I do?"

Arizona thought about it for a minute and he asked, "Don't really know. But I'll think about celebrating Christmas. I just...need to have some time to think this through."

Musaki knows he can't force Arizona to celebrate and he sighed heavily and he said, "Okay."

Arizona left the room for a minute and as he went his way back to the room, in comes Shifu walking past him and he said, "Arizona, can I see you for a minute?"

"Sure." Arizona replied.

He walks into Shifu's room for a minute and with numbers of candles all around, the young wolf didn't know what to expect from this and he just sat down with his legs crossed and asked, "What did you want to talk to me about?"

Shifu sat down as well and he replied, "About the holidays."

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><p>Clifhanger time! Does Shifu already know? Arizona's real hidden personal reason is coming up. Also, today is 'Panda 2sday!' Get Kung Fu Panda 2 on DVD and Blu-ray 2day! We're gonna bring the awesomeness home in time for the holidays! Also, I hope you caught the Kung Fu panda Holiday Special tonight at 6:305:30 pm cental and tomorrow (if you missed it) at 5:30/4:30pm central part of ABC Family's '25 Days of Christmas.' How awesome is that? In case anyone missed the premiere last year, ABC Family's got ya covered. They'll re-air it! So..record it if you must...unless you got DVR or TiVo. Awesome early christmas gift, huh?


	4. Arizona's Reason

And here's Arizona's confession to Shifu.

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><p>Chapter 4: Arizona's Reason<p>

Hearing this, Arizona kinda felt nervous about this and figured that Shifu knows something that he kept to himself. His ears perked down at that it grew really awkward within the conversation and he asked, "How'd you know that?"

Shifu took a deep breath and replied, "Musaki told us about it yesterday. He seemed kinda upset about it."

The young wolf knew that it made him upset, but never actually showed it to him before and it left a very painful taste in his mouth and he also said, "How upset?"

Shifu just blinked at him and answered, "Just shocked...as we all did."

Arizona swallowed hard and he just scratched the back of his neck and he took a deep breath and it seemed as though the conversation will grow awkward by the minute and Shifu looked at him with a growing concern and explained, "I want to know what's the reason why you want to miss out on something like this."

"It's not that I don't want to celebrate...but I'm just unsure if you want someone like me to join in for something that makes you guys happy. I don't want to ruin it for you." Arizona answered.

"What makes you think that?" asked Shifu, surprised.

Little did they know, Musaki is just eavesdropping on the conversation, hoping that Shifu will get a simple reason coming out of him hoping not to get himself caught by them.

Arizona takes another deep breath, sat down on the ground and he answered, "I've been living here for several months now and everything still feels new to me...including celebrating Christmas."

Shifu still felt like an honest answer wasn't even coming out of him and he knew he was hiding something that he wasn't ready to tell him. He got a little suspicious and just flat-out told him, "There's gotta be more than that. Just tell me why."

It's like more questions keeps coming at him at any given moment and Arizona didn't think that he would just explain something personal to him because he wanted to keep it to himself for so much longer to he point where just put a wall on himself to block the conversation, but Shifu had his ways to spilling out a confession from anyone who's hiding something. Finally, Arizona just sighed in exasperation as the short-lived wall starts crumbling down and just told him, "Because...I lost my memories of Christmas."

Shifu's eyes widened after what Arizona told him that he lost some of his memories of Christmas and he asked, "How long?"

"After my dad died." Arizona replied, in a sad tone.

Despite his ways of keeping secrets, Arizona still feels the hurt coming inside of him after going through so many misery for so long that he lost in touch with everything positive in his life and it was like there was no way of gaining it back rather than trying to. He told him, "The reason why I never wanted to celebrate it is because I don't even remember having a Christmas in my life. After I lost my mom and my dad, every winter I just avoided being happy and end up shutting out the holidays just to cope with it. Every year in Kong Wolf City, Dai Ling would just tell me that it's all full of lies and that everyone's happy for nothing. So much so that he would often beat me up if I ever get near the snow, so I stayed in my dark room all winter while everyone's out enjoying the holiday. I just felt like if I celebrate it this year, it'll be like re-opening those old wounds again and I don't want that to happen in front of everyone who's celebrating it. So it's like why even bother trying?"

After that story, Shifu definitely felt his pain and he just puts his hand around Arizona's wrist and he told him, "Can you try this year?"

Arizona stared at him with a more unsure look and he asked, "Why?"

"Even though you may see us as this kung-fu group, we're all family...and you're a part of that family as well. I just don't want you to be distant and withdrawn from any of us...like I used to after Tai Lung was in prison." Shifu explained.

Arizona was surprised to see Shifu worried about him that much. It made him realize that the meaning of the holidays is spending time with family and friends all the time. He sighed heavily and he told him, "I never thought of it that way."

"It seems as though Musaki obviously cares about you and he wants to do anything he can to help you find your holiday spirit."

Arizona sighed heavily and still felt unsure if he wants to celebrate the holidays with them and he just told him, "That's...something I still have to think about."

Shifu understands that it's all new for him and that it might take some time getting used to for a little while until he's fully ready and he said, "You've got 4 days left, so make sure you have all the time you need."

"Yes, master."

Arizona got up and walks out of the room and Shifu told him, "Hope everything will work out for you then."

"Hope so too."

When he opened the door, he sees Musaki standing in front of him. Musaki knew that he would be busted for eavesdropping over the conversation and he said, "Hey, Zona. What's up?"

Shifu looks up and sees Musaki there and he asked, "Were you eavesdropping in our conversation?"

Musaki swallowed hard at that question and he innocently replied, "No..."

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><p>Next chapter, the holiday angst will kick up a notch.<p> 


	5. Is That True?

This explains why I'm so awesome at moments like this. This is the longest chapter I think I've ever typed...by accident.

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><p>Chapter 5: Is That True?<p>

Not long afterwards, Musaki sat down on the table in the kitchen with his thoughts wrapped around after hearing Arizona talk to Shifu about his reason for not celebrating the holidays because he's given up his spirit and it was like there was nothing he could do to try to gain it all back. He sighed heavily and laid his arms on the table and puts his head down underneath it.

He heard footsteps coming in the kitchen, but what he didn't know was that a young wolf came over and sat down next to him on the other side of the table.

"Musaki?" he softly called out.

He slowly looks up and he sees it was only Arizona there. He looked a little concerned and didn't think that he was gonna hear the entire conversation and he asked him, "How much did you actually hear?"

Musaki looks up at him and he sadly responded, "All of it."

He suddenly realized that he heard the entire conversation without even knowing it and at that point, he didn't exactly know what to say about it. Before he could even get a chance to say anything, Musaki just asked him, "Is that true?"

Arizona didn't know exactly how to tell him because in a personal note, it was like going through all of these old wounds that he's been scarred up for 15 years dealing with Dai Ling back at Kong Wolf City. He just let out a heavy sigh and replied, "Yeah, it's true."

Suddenly, Musaki's concern quickly turned to guilt that he doesn't know how to fix the problem. He sighed sadly and just stared at the table, feeling a little bit of shame deep inside. Arizona could see that it's starting to hurt him and he told him, "Don't feel sorry for me."

"I just want to help you find your christmas spirit." Musaki said, sadly.

Arizona could pretty much feel his pain and he just left the room a little, leaving him alone to himself, but on the other side of the door, a few tears came out of his eyes and with Musaki feeling really guilty about not helping him in this time, he wants to make it up for him. Being that it is the holidays, he was thinking about getting a gift, but he wasn't sure what to do. Soon enough, he sees Viper slithering into the room and he asked, "You okay, Arizona?"

There was silence in the hallway and Arizona responds, "I don't know."

"Don't you want to celebrate Christmas with us?" asked Viper.

"I don't think I might. I'm...just not feeling it."

That made Viper a little worried about Arizona more because he has a problem and he couldn't tell her the real reason why. She sighed sadly and asked, "Why not?"

It was too personal for Arizona and he wasn't sure if he was able to tell it with someone he barely knows and replied, "I don't wanna talk about it."

She grew more worried and she said, "It has to be something."

Arizona knew that he wasn't ready to even discuss this and he said, "You wouldn't understand."

Arizona walks away, leaving Viper a little helpless and somewhat concerned for whatever reason he's got hiding. She sighed heavily and continued on her way back to her room, unaware that a certain tiger is feeling some deep fury coming out of her to confront this situation.

When Arizona got to his room, he just laid down on the mat staring at the ceiling and trying to block the memory of why everyone's concerned about him anyway. It wasn't long before Tigress burst open the door to his room, in seething rage. Arizona couldn't help but feel frightened of the way she came in as she angrily charged at him and asked, "Why don't you want to celebrate Christmas with us?"

Arizona was completely silent and didn't want to say anything, but Tigress was adamant of getting it out of him as she stood over his space and said, "I'm waiting for an answer."

"I don't...want...to talk about...it." Arizona enunciated.

She snapped at him, grabbing him by the shoulders, shouting, "I don't care! You're not telling us anything and I demand to know why!"

Arizona broke free from her and just turned away from her and that added fuel to Tigress' anger and she wanted to fight him so badly to get an answer out of him and she kicked him in the butt, which caused him to howl and he asked, "What was that for?"

"I have ways of getting your confession." she snarled.

Arizona knew he wanted to tell her, but not at this moment and he said, "Look, all I can tell is that it's too personal for me to even talk about it...especially with someone I don't know very well."

"What does that supposed to mean?" she asked, angrily.

He sighed heavily and replied, "This is my first time celebrating it with people I barely know...and I still feel like I don't belong here because I can't remember my first christmas. All of those memories were robbed from Dai Ling growing up and...I just don't want to lose them again."

Tigress' anger simmered down and she felt sorry for the young wolf who's been through so much in his life and Arizona said, "Now you know. Are you happy now? That's why I don't want to join in with you guys because I don't want to lose any memory I may have."

The fact that Arizona wasn't gonna celebrate it with them because he forgot his memory and lost his spirit made Tigress become sympatheic towards him and she said, "I didn't know it was like that."

The wolf looked at Tigress and he's never seen her feel like this before, as is her hardcoreness was just a facade to her true feelings and he asked her, "Are you feeling sorry for me?"

She tried to put the wall back up, but Arizona immediately told her, "If it's the real you, can it stick around longer?"

Tigress puts her paw on his shoulder and just hugged him tightly. Arizona didn't know what to respond to that, but he accepted it anyway. She told him, "I'm really sorry I had to come down on you like that. I just don't like it when people hide something from anyone else here."

That surprised Arizona to the most extent and he just rolled his eyes and he said, "I'm so used to keeping everything a secret all the time. Why would you do that?"

"When people hide something that no one else knows about, I have to find out what the root of the problem is." she answered.

Arizona wasn't so sure about something like that and he asked, "But after they tell you, do you just...beat them up for it or do you like try to solve the problem?"

"I solve it and then ask them why and once they do, I try my best to understand it. When I don't know what it is and they keep it to themselves, that's where I lose control and just fight them for no reason."

Hearing that made Arizona twitch a little and he scooted a little further away from her and Tigress could sense that he was obviously afraid of something and she asked, "Is there a problem?"

"Well...if you put it that way. I wouldn't want to be beaten up if I'm hiding something." Arizona added.

She was a little taken aback from what he said to him and she asked, "Where did you get that idea from?"

"Musaki. He often told me if he had a problem, turning to you would be the last thing he would do because he's...kinda afraid of you because of how you'll react to it, so he goes to someone else."

Silence filled the room and Tigress started to become a little enraged that Musaki would be afraid of her because of the way she handles issues that are too personal for anyone. Then, she turned to Arizona and adds, "And I don't really blame him."

She sighed heavily, rolled her eyes and just told him, "I know it's gonna take some time getting used to being here, but you have to celebrate Christmas with us."

"That's something I have to think about."

She nodded her head in understanding and told him, "You've only got 4 days left until Christmas, you know."

Arizona started to get a little annoyed by the conversation and he just lets out a heavy sigh and laid down flat on his mat and Tigress could see that he doesn't wanna talk about it anymore and just got up and said, "You've got plenty of time to think about it. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a bone to pick with Musaki."

* * *

><p>I seriously don't know what happened later in the chapter, but I thought at that moment that Musaki couldn't stand Tigress because of her unemotional wall and that she doesn't feel anything and when she does get upset over little things, that'd be the point where Musaki doesn't feel comfortable about coming to her for anything. Tigress is Musaki's least favorite member and here's where some parts of her emotional wall comes down when Musaki displays truth to her. Tell me if you think he's done a great job than Po. So this is one half of the chapter and the rest of it...it's Musaki explaining her true feelings about dealing with Tigress. Let's face it, he's been adopted in the Jade Palace for 3 years and he still feels there's animosity between them because of her hardcore ways, which makes it harder for him to relate. It was sort of an accident when I wrote it. Sorry.<p>

* * *

><p>She was unaware that Musaki heard the conversation and he just quickly sprinted back to the room, hiding in the treasure chest hoping that Tigress wouldn't find him. As she came into his room, he was shaking a little bit and no time later, she opened the treasure chest and saw Musaki hiding in there. When he looked up, he groaned in agony and just knew that something might happen next.<p>

He got out of the treasure chest and he knew that she ws angry at him and he sighed heavily and asked, "What did I do this time?"

"Why are you afraid of me?" asked Tigress, in an angry tone.

Musaki didn't expect that question to come at him and he asked, "Who told you that?"

"Arizona."

The fact that Arizona told her that made him feel like he's gonna be in big trouble with her and he started to get a little nervous and backed away from her and she could tell that the wolf was right...he was afraid of her. She tried to talk him down, but Musaki wasn't able to even speak to her and she told him, "Is everything he said to you about me was true?"

"Yes." he replied, hesitantly.

To his surprise, she wasn't getting angry, furious or enraged about it and she just stood there looking a little upset over this and she asked, "Why?"

"I heard about what you did to Po back at Gongmen City to get an answer out of him over his distractions with Shen. I'll be honest with you, I don't wanna come to you if I have a problem because you're just way too hardcore and...that you wouldn't understand. And that I was scared that if I could, all you could do is just hurt me...so I just turned to anyone else that I was comfortable with talking to and you're not one of them. Simply because I never liked you that much and for 3 years, it's like you always hated me or never even thought that I'm good enough to live here." Musaki explained.

She was a little hurt by what he said to her and she just stood there, looking really sad about it and he just walked away from her, but not before Tigress would stop him and she told him, "If you think that it's really who I am, you're wrong. The reason why I'm always like that is because I don't wanna feel abandoned again."

He could actually figure out why she likes to be mean and angry all the time because she doesn't want to lose the people she cares about, but he knows that it won't help at all. He told her, "If you keep shutting people out, that's exactly what might happen to you in the future and you're gonna be a very lonely person for the rest of your life."

Tigress started to become more angry about what he said because she knew he was right. She just didn't want to admit it because the others might see her as this broken tiger that tries to put on a tough mask to cover her true emotions and she told him, "Why do you know about this?"

"Po tells me everything...and so does Shifu. They often tell me the real reasons why I would never turn to you for my problems-because you don't listen, you don't care and in my opinion, you have no heart at all."

She widened her eyes to hear that she has no heart and it almost put her on edge, but looking at him, she could see that he made a valid point about her and she just sighed sadly and lowered her head down a little bit. Musaki already knew what was gonna happen next and he asked, "You're crying, aren't you?"

And to no surprise, he sees a tear coming out of her face and then raised her entire head up and sees that she's in tears and she explained to him, "That really hurts...what you just said. I just...don't wanna be looked at as either Tai Lung or even a monster."

"Look, everything those people said to you in that orphanage is not true. Why do you care about what other people think of you?"

"Because it's true." she said, tearfully.

"I don't see a monster in you. You've been letting this go on for years and you still can't let go of it? You're not a monster. The kids that call you one are the real monsters themselves. You're just Tigress...and she doesn't care what other people think of her. Only she can think who she knows who she really is."

Everything Musaki told her is true and she didn't know how to just let it all sink in and she told him, "I shouldn't even feel the way I feel now. Warriors never shed tears."

"I don't agree with that at all. Sure, some warriors are tough, but showing emotions and having a soft side is not considered a weakness. It's a strength. You can still be the strongest warrior and also show emotions at the same time too."

She looked at Musaki and just hugged him tightly and cried on her shoulders. Musaki didn't know how to react to this and gave his least favorite member of the Furious Five some comforting advice. He finally decided to accept it and hugged her back as well and she told him, "My worry is that the others will see me like this and I just don't know how they'll react to it, like I'm not the warrior they think I am."

"I know Po and Shifu sees you underneath that mask you've covered yourself in and I guess in a way, so have I. But it's okay. Nothing will change that." Musaki added.

"You're a good person, Musaki. And don't be afraid to just come to me for anything. I won't judge you."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

Tigress actually smiled and so did Musaki and those words he told her made her feel better, but they were unaware that Po, Shifu and the rest of them witnessed this happening in his room. Crane's jaw was dropped and everyone else widened their eyes in bewilderment and shock to see the real Tigress. But so far, Po and Shifu was the only one unsurprised about her emotional breakthrough and Po said, "You did a better job than I did, Lil' Saki."

Musaki turns around and sees them standing there and he chuckled nervously and said, "Hey. What's up?"

Soon enough, they saw Tigress for who she really is and she didn't know whether or not she could show it to anyone and Monkey asked, "Were you crying?"

She tried to deny it, but Musaki assured her to let her know it's okay. He nodded his head for support as a way to say, 'Remember what I said' and she just explained it to them and their reactions were completely surprising to them and Crane asked, "Why didn't you let us know before?"

"I didn't want you to think that I wasn't as strong as you thought I was." Tigress answered.

"Who said you weren't? We're warriors and even we show emotions too." Monkey added.

Po puts his hand on her shoulder and he smiled at her and told him, "Like I said, you'll never lose us because we're always here for you."

The fact that the emotional breakthrough Musaki gave her and Po started with made her feel better about herself and she looked at everyone else and she figured that they'll still be there for me, emotionless or not. Shifu told her, "Do not be distant from the people you care about and showing true feelings is always a strength. Remember that."

"Yes, master."

Musaki chuckled softly and he said, "Okay, now that we got that out of the way, let's focus on how to get Arizona into the holiday spirit. I'm like struggling here and I need everyone to help me out in the simplest way possible."

"Yeah, what can we do?" asked Mantis, worriedly.

"Well, we have to think of something. Christmas is in like 4 days and we need to do something special for the wolf dude." Po added.

They all were unaware that Arizona overheard the conversation and he figured that they're worried about him and he just don't want them to feel sorry for themselves for his loss of holiday spirit. He just went back to the room and just sat down on the mat for a few minutes and looked up at the ceiling, thinking it over.

He then asked himself, 'They really care about me that much?'

* * *

><p>Another emotional breakthrough for Tigress and it's not coming from Po. Again, how did Musaki do on this? Sorry if I shifted the focus from Arizona to what you just read. On the next chapter, our focus will be on Arizona. Promise. Also, 10 days until Christmas! I'm still gonna get Kung Fu Panda 2 on DVD for Christmas. Didn't get it when it came out, but don't worry. I will still get the movie.<p> 


	6. Bonding in the Snow

We bring in a special guest coming in for this chapter. Guess who?

* * *

><p>Chapter 6: Bonding in the Snow<p>

As night goes in, Arizona was sitting there at the roof of the Jade Palace, watching the snow fall down and he was completely torn about celebrating the holidays with his new family because he sensed that everyone was worried about him and he just didn't want them to feel sad because of him. He sighed heavily as the cold air went out of his mouth and began thinking.

Not long after, he sees a young white and grey striped tiger coming in behind him with only a winter hat and some gloves. He saw that it was Max and he went in from behind and gave Arizona a hug. He sighed heavily and said, "Thanks, buddy. I needed one."

"I just came to see you." Max added.

Max sat down next to Arizona and they both watched the snow together and suddenly, they looked at each other and Max was the first one to ask, "So...what are you doing for Christmas?"

Arizona sighed again, scratched his hair and replied, "Probably nothing."

"Yeah, me neither." Max said.

Suddenly, he was surprised to hear that Max wasn't doing anything for Christmas either and it just made a huge impact on both of them and he asked, "Why not?"

Max let out a heavy sigh and he replied, "Growing up, I never really had a christmas. I just view it like any other day and I never had the holiday spirit."

Arizona's heart broke for Max, knowing that he's never had a Christmas and he lost his memories as well and neither one of them knew what else to say about it. Max then said, "Mako and my brothers want me to join in for the holiday fun, but sometimes I feel a little sad because I never felt that spirit before. The more I look at how everyone gets happy over this, the more sadder I get."

"I understand you. Musaki and the rest of them have tried to get me into it, but I'm not really sure if I want to. It's kinda too painful for me."

"How painful are you saying?" Max asked, bewildered.

Arizona wasn't sure how to explain this to him because there was something in that moment that he knew it would be too harsh to bring it up for discussion, but he took a deep breath and told him, "The one horrible moment that happened to me on Christmas...I was told that it was all lies and that everyone's too happy for no reason. And when I actually went out to see if it was true, Dai Ling stopped dead in my tracks, brought me to his room and just brutally scratched me and beat me down with a sledgehammer. Blood came out of me and I was just in pain. I was beaten in the nose, face and it ended up with a bloody face all over me. I already lost some of my christmas memories with my family and I'm just afraid that if I do celebrate it here, it'll bring to a point where I'll just end up being miserable and I can't even remember it."

Max's eyes welled up with tears knowing that Arizona had to go through something like that. He let out a few whimpers and hugged him tightly. Arizona wiped a few of his tears and said, "Wouldn't want them to freeze up on you."

Arizona held him closely and one tear fell down on his face and he told him, "That's why I can't celebrate it with them...because I'll lose every memory I had here."

"That makes two of us." Max added.

Just then, Shifu came from behind and he saw both Arizona and Max looking at the snow on the roof and he said, "Kinda cold tonight, huh?"

Both of them turned around and saw Shifu standing right behind them and Arizona kinda felt embarassed to know that he might've heard him. He asked, "How long were you here?"

"Just got here. Hello, Max."

"H-Hi, Shifu." Max said, nervously.

Shifu sat down next to them and Arizona wasn't sure what they might talk about and he said, "Arizona...I was thinking that maybe the both of us should do something together."

That kinda confused him a little bit and he asked, "Do something together? Like what?"

"Anything you want." Shifu replied.

It was definitely a random question for him and he wasn't sure what he might do and he said, "I'm not sure what."

"You'll think of something."

There was a few things that Arizona had in mind and in one of them, he started thinking much of Musaki and he asked, "I'm thinking about finding a present for Musaki."

Suddenly, that idea struck Shifu and he sees it as a brilliant idea and replied, "Good choice. Seems as though you two are best friends."

"Well, yeah. I didn't think that he would feel guilty of me not celebrating Christmas with you guys and I just thought that maybe I can give him something after all he's done for me."

"That is an excellent idea. We'll start tomorrow."

Arizona smiled and said, "Thanks, master."

"You know...I think you were hiding that holiday spirit."

Arizona couldn't tell what he said to him and just nervously replied, "I'm still not sure."

Shifu patted him on the shoulder and he said, "Do not worry. You'll gain it back."

He walks off, leaving him and Max alone to watch the snow together until it was time for them to go inside to get warm and while they were heading in, the entire bunkhouse was decorated with christmas stuff and it was unlike anything Arizona has ever seen before. He looks around and sees it all decked out. He chuckled softly and said, "Wow."

Monkey and Crane were the first ones to see him and Crane asked, "How'd you like them?"

Arizona was completely speechless and replied, "It's amazing."

"We just thought about you and we're hoping that it might be enough to give you that holiday spirit." Monkey added.

"Thanks...I guess."

They both noticed Max behind them and they said 'hi' to him and went on their way to the kitchen and Po was there making some noodles and he took one look at them and let out a smile and said, "Hey."

"Hi, Po." Max said.

"Hey." Arizona added.

"Dinner's just about ready. Max, you wanna stick around for a while?"

"Sure." Max replied, happily.

Just then, Po pulls out the bowls and puts them on the table and then sits down with them, waiting for everyone else to come in. Po looked at Arizona and asked, "How'd ya like the decorations we pulled in?"

"It's...great, actually." he replied, hesitantly.

Then, the rest of the Five, Shifu, Musaki, Ruiz, Shing and Kazuo went in the dining hall and resorted to eating. Musaki looked at Arizona for a minute and he sees Max with him and he said, "How's it going, Max?"

"Pretty great." Max replied.

"What are you doing for Christmas?"

Max sighs heavily and he said, "I don't think I might celebrate Christmas."

Everyone was shocked...except for Arizona when they heard what Max said and everyone exclaimed, "WHAT?"

"You too?" asked Crane.

"I don't have the holiday spirit." Max admitted.

Hearing this, Musaki is in deep dilemma for not knowing that Max doesn't have the holiday spirit as well and he asked, "Is this your first Christmas?"

"Yeah and I don't know if I can celebrate it with my new family."

The rest of the Five were concerned with the fact that both Arizona and Max don't want to celebrate christmas and that concern grown into full-blown worry. They continued on with their meal and Musaki really felt frustrated knowing that he doesn't have any options for this situation.

* * *

><p>Don't panic. His christmas spirit will be revealed later in the story.<p> 


	7. Finding Musaki's Present

Of course, what will Arizona give Musaki for christmas?

* * *

><p>Chapter 7: Finding Musaki's Present<p>

The next day, it was three days left until Christmas and the kung-fu masters felt like time was running out to help Arizona get into the holiday spirit. They all gathered around the Sacred hall of Warriors just as worried as they can get. Shifu kept pacing back and forth across the Moon Pool and the rest of them were definitely anxious about convincing Arizona to join them.

Tigress was the first one to say something and she asked, "So what do we do now?"

"It's like close to Christmas." Po agreed.

"Keep calm, students. I convinced Arizona to spend a day with me to get a gift for Musaki." Shifu explained.

"And then what?" asked Viper.

He wanted to say something else, but he didn't know what else and he told them, "I don't know."

All of them groaned in frustration and Tigress felt like she was gonna lose her patience at any moment and she said, "If we don't come up with something, I'm just gonna take him down myself."

"Since when is that considered a good idea?" asked Monkey.

"Besides, it's Christmas." Po added, to ease the tension.

Just then, Arizona walked into the Sacred hall of Warriors and already tensions ran a little higher and they stared at him very confused-like. He looked at them and asked, "What's wrong?"

Tigress immediately went to a fit of rage and asked, "Why don't you wanna celebrate it with us? It's coming closer and you just don't want to spend Christmas here? What is wrong with you?"

Arizona was completely scared that Tigress kept shouting incoherently for no reason and Po and Shifu held her back for the wolf's safety. Po stepped in and he said, "Well...what do you want to do for Christmas?"

"Like I said, I don't know." Arizona replied.

"Well, you better think of something fast or so help me I will-" Tigress said, but then got cut off by Shifu.

Shifu went in to Arizona and he asked, "We're gonna go around the Valley to see what Musaki would like for Christmas."

Arizona wasn't quite sure what Musaki would like, but whatever it is, he's hoping that it'll show that he does care about him. They left the temple, leaving the masters with some hope that he's gonna gain some spirit. Then, Po told her, "You know Tigress, for a strong warrior, I would suggest you need therapy for Christmas."

Tigress snarled at him for that remark and Po quickly turned away and said, "Shutting up."

Meanwhile, Shifu walked with Arizona to find a present for Musaki and when they went to this one store, they were looking around to see what fits Musaki's interest and he wasn't sure which one he can give him. It was frustrating for him at first, but suddenly he comes across a little clothing item-a yin and yang bandana.

His eyes widened when he looked at it and then, Shifu came in saw what Arizona was holding and he asked, "Think Musaki would like it?"

"I hope so." Arizona replied.

"Why do you want to give Musaki a present?"

Arizona sighed heavily and he told him, "He's done great things for me and the least I could do is just give him something that would mean a lot to our friendship."

Shifu was touched by what he said and told him, "Friendship lives on forever."

Later on, they bought the bandana and as they left the store, he sees three wolves coming from Kong Wolf City heading towards their way and they were surprised to see Arizona for the first time. Chao comes in and he said, "Happy holidays, Arizona."

Arizona chuckled softly and said, "You too."

All three of them bowed to Master Shifu as he bowed to them too. It was the very first time that they ever met the grandmaster who trained with the best of the best. Xiang told him, "It is a severe honor to be in your presence."

"The pleasure's all mine." Shifu added.

Xing came in and he said, "How's things going for ya, Arizona?"

"Doing fine, I guess." Arizona replied.

"We came from Kong Wolf City to see how you're doing and hoping that you'll have your first Christmas."

That caught Shifu's attention and he asked, "First christmas?"

Chao, Xing and Xiang were surprised that Arizona didn't tell him about it and Chao said, "He never told you that he never wanted to celebrate the holidays after his father got killed?"

"No. I mean, I thought he lost those memories." Shifu added.

"He did. After Dai Ling messed him up that Christmas day when he was five, he swore that he would never celebrate the holidays as long as he lived."

Shifu looked at Arizona and he asked, "Is that true?"

Arizona nodded his head in shame and he felt dumbfounded about this and he told Xing, "I'm just helping him get into the holiday spirit with us."

"That's sorta why we came. We're hoping that you gave him the holiday spirit here." Chao added.

After some explaining, Arizona still didn't feel like celebrating it and that made Shifu feel even more helpless. He sighed heavily and he said, "It won't be any trouble. I can assure you that his spirit will be found."

The three woloves bowed to him and went on their way and Shifu got behind him, he asked, "What else you want to do?"

He began thinking and he knew that he was a good enough cook back on his days on Kong Wolf City and he asked, "You ever had green cookies before?"

"Never." Shifu replied.

"I'll show you and Musaki how to make those."

Then, out of nowhere, comes Musaki with three bags full of gifts and he started panting heavily and told them, "Man, three stores-I advise you not to go anywhere near the toy department by yourself. Those kids would completely get bonkers over one toy."

Arizona went over to him and he asked, "Hey, Musaki. Wanna do something in the palace?"

"Like what?" Musaki asked.

"I'm gonna show you how to make green cookies."

Musaki became a little skeptical about the name and he asked, "Green cookies?"

"Yeah, I'll tell you on the way."

* * *

><p>If you guys don't remember Chao, Xing and Xiang, they're from my previous fic, 'Dark Side of the Moon.' They're three wolves from Kong Wolf City and are considered the most respectful peacemakers and rulers of the town until Dai Ling took over. Don't be confused with Chao because you'll mistake him with that kung-fu lizard master from 'Legends of Awesomeness.' Green cookies? I'm sure you guys are looking forward to see that.<p> 


	8. How to Make Green Cookies

We see a little bit of the holiday spirit come out of Arizona at the end of this chapter.

* * *

><p>Chapter 8: How to Make Green Cookies<p>

When they got to the kitchen, Arizona was pretty eager to show them how to make some green cookies and for Musaki and Shifu, they had no idea what to expect. He got most of the ingredients together and is ready to show them how it's made.

Arizona told them, "In order to make green cookies, you need to make cookie dough green by a drip of food coloring."

He then mixes in the cookie dough and puts a droplet of green food coloring in them making the doyugh turn from white to green in a matter of seconds. Musaki was surprised to see this actually happening and soon after, he then tells them the next step.

"After the dough is green, you must form them in the shape of a cookie and set them in one-by-one."

Arizona gives Musaki and Shifu most of the cookie dough and puts them in together. Musaki seems to be getting the hang of it, but Shifu is starting to struggle with it because he worries that he'll dirty up his robe. He eventually got it down pat, though it did come with a green coloring stain on his sleeve.

Then, Arizona brings in some frostings to spread it around the cookie and tells them, "And then, you add in whatever you want in there. Personally, I like to add in blue and green frosting, but you guys can put in whatever you want."

Musaki was intrigued by the blue and red frosting and adds them on the cookie and Shifu puts in some brown frosting in them. After that, they all put them in the brick oven to let them bake and Arizona explains to them how he would eat it to get the full experience of the taste. While they're waiting, Musaki definitely knew that this would be really fun to start up Christmas and told Arizona, "I seriously can't wait for them to come out."

Arizona chuckled softly and said, "Well, hey. I always make them every year even though I don't have the holiday spirit. Everyone else that were the right members and citizens of Kong Wolf City always loved my cookies and I serve it to them as well as everything I made whenever Dai Ling's comrades refuse to feed them."

"You're such a softie, Zona." Musaki chuckled.

The young wolf rolled his eyes by that comment he made and he told him, "Dai Ling said the same thing to me as well."

"But in a good way, though."

Shifu chuckled softly at that comment and he told them, "Seeing you two laughing with each other...it's like you're brothers. I've never seen a more greater pairing-a panda and a wolf being friends."

Arizona and Musaki looked at each other and then stared at Shifu and Arizona told him, "Well, I don't know about that, but I do have that same feeling as well."

Musaki chuckled softly and replied, "It's times like this when everyone I meet, they're like a huge part of my life and those kinds of people will always stay with you."

Those words made Arizona feel like he's really special, even when people back at Kong Wolf City said he isn't. It touched his heart very deeply to hear something coming out of Musaki and he asked, "You mean that?"

"Absolutely."

It almost gave him second thoughts about not participating for celebrating Christmas with them for the first time and Musaki said, "Well, Christmas is coming in a few days and I'm hoping something like this will help you find your holiday spirit."

"Well...maybe a little." Arizona added.

Suddenly, Musaki felt like Arizona's spirit was secretly found inside of him and never knew about it. With that, he asked, "Are you thinking about celebrating it with us?"

Arizona sighed heavily and then he told him, "I don't really know still. Part of me wants to, but the other part of me wants to withdraw myself away from it because of lacking spirit."

Shifu could analyze with what Arizona just said and those two parts just came to him. He then asked, "Are you listening to your heart or your head?"

That kind of question left the young wolf in confusion and asked, "What?"

"In one part, you're listening to your head like you're really not sure what to choose or even think when it comes to making a choice. But when one follows through in doing what's right for oneself, that's following your heart."

Very quickly, Arizona knew what he was talking about. The one part is his heart and another part is in his head. He looked at Shifu and said, "How do I know which one I can listen to?"

"Just follow your heart and see where it takes you." Shifu replied.

He nodded his head in understanding and then decides to check in on the cookies to see how they're looking and when he took them out, it looked really good for them to eat. Arizona taught them the proper way to eat a green cookie and take it bite-by-bite and eat them all up. Musaki and Shifu followed his example and it left a pretty good taste in their mouths.

"This is delicious, Arizona." Musaki said, with joyful glee.

"Most outstanding." Shifu agreed.

"I'm glad you guys liked it." Arizona said, with a smile.

Suddenly, the door opens and in comes Po and Ruiz smelling the aroma of cookies and Po's mouth was watering as he saw the sight of cookies and he asked, "Are those cookies?"

"Yeah, you guys want some?" asked Arizona.

Without replying, Po quickly got to the table and wanted to have some, but Arizona stopped what he was doing and said, "Dude, slow down. I'm gonna make some more, so whatever your stomach's telling you, tell them to wait another few hours."

Po was shocked to hear him say it and exclaimed, "A few hours?"

"In the meantime, you and Ruiz can take at least one cookie each."

Ruiz agreed and tasted the green cookie for the first time and his taste buds went into overdrive and said, "These are some good cookies, Zona!"

Po ate some and he agreed with what he said and he said, "What are those?"

"I call them green cookies." Arizona replied.

Both of them looked in confusion and asked, "Green cookies?"

"So...green cookies are like green-y or sweet moldy-like?" asked Po, confusedly.

Arizona rolled his eyes at Po's comment and replied, "They're green on the outside, but really good on the inside."

"Either way, it's awesome."

Everyone kept talking and laughing as they enjoyed Arizona's cookies and the young wolf felt like his holiday spirit has almost been revived a little bit.

* * *

><p>Kinda hilarious with Po and his food. Next up, the holiday spirit for Arizona that was once broken will be refixed.<p> 


	9. Holiday Spirit Revived

And here's where Arizona found his holiday spirit all thanks to Musaki. Is there anything he can't do to make anyone else's life better?

* * *

><p>Chapter 9: Holiday Spirit Revived<p>

The next day, it was only two days until Christmas and also one more day until Christmas Eve and Arizona walked through the hallway and into the kitchen to get some of his green cookies for a quick breakfast and he had this feeling that barely anyone is awake. He got some cookies and started eating them and then, he sees Musaki coming in along with Zeke and they said, "Morning, Arizona."

"Hey, guys." Arizona answered.

Zeke looked at what Arizona's eating and he recognized those cookies and quickly asked, "Are those green cookies?"

Arizona was surprised to see that Zeke knows so much about those edible treats and didn't expect him to know so much of these things and asked, "How'd you know these?"

Zeke chuckled softly as he takes some cookies, eats them and explains, "Years before I met Musaki, every year at my guardians' place, they would always make some of these and they became my favorite dessert."

Arizona chuckled at that comment and he said, "Awesome, Zeke."

Musaki was smiling at Arizona and he said, "Guess what? Shifu told me that I get to hang out with you for a day, just you and me."

Arizona seemed eager to hang out Musaki for a while and he was up for it and said, "Sure, I'd love to. It's weird because we haven't trained in a while."

"Well...we don't do training when it's near Christmastime, which is really awesome because we get to take a little break from practicing our kung-fu. The bets part...we get to sleep in. How awesome is that?" Musaki said, with a giddy smile.

Though Arizona loved training, he also thought it was cool that Shifu lets them take a break for the holidays and he figured that it's a good occasion and agreed to hang with Musaki for a while. Afterwards, they walked out of the palace and into the valley and for Arizona, he felt that it was a good idea too because they barely hung out than they used to. Musaki asked him, "So...where do you want to go?"

"Is there a view where we can see the entire palace from further away?" asked Arizona.

Luckily, Musaki had that idea and he knew exactly where that place is and within a few seconds, they reached across this huge boulder with the steps that leads to the Valley of Peace entrance and as soon as they reached the top, Arizona couldn't believe what he was seeing for the first time. He chuckled softly and said, "So that's how you see the palace...even though you're not near it."

Musaki sat down next on the boulder and he said, "Usually, I just come here whenever I'm upset about something or just need to get away. It's my number-two haven where I just want some alone time...next to the Sacred Peach Tree."

Arizona sat down next to him as well and just looked up at the entire view for a few seconds and Musaki still wants to know about the wolf's current dillemma about avoiding the holidays. He turned to him and asked, "Hey, are you still thinking about going to celebrate with us?"

The wolf turns around and he scratched the back of his head and replied, "I guess."

Musaki chuckled at that comment and asked, "You guess?"

"I haven't exactly made a choice yet."

Musaki blinked a few times and just wanted find an answer coming out of him, but Arizona immediately asked him, "You really wanna know why?"

"Why you never celebrated the holidays?"

Arizona knew that the subject matter would consider it as too personal, but he just felt that now is the best time to just let it all out and he said, "Yeah. Because I don't wanna lose my memories. I don't remember my first christmas with my parents because I've been abused and beaten by Dai Ling. Every year, he would often tell me that it's nothing but a bunch of lies and how everyone's happy all the time. I'm just afraid that if I do, it'll be like re-opening all of those old wounds again and I didn't want anyone to see me like that."

Musaki felt his heart break because he's been through too much in his life and figured that that was the reason behind it. He exhaled deeply and he said, "I don't know what to say about that. I mean, I knew it had something to do with your past, but I never thought of it as like something you couldn't endure."

"It's not your fault. I just didn't want to put a damper on you guys. Besides, I've lived here for months and it's my first time celebrating it here, so I really don't know what to expect."

Musaki pats his shoulder and smiled at him and he said, "Well, you know what? We're gonna change that. You'll just have to trust us. I made a promise to myself that I'll find your holiday spirit and before this is over, I'll fulfill that promise."

Arizona's ears perked up and he could tell that he does care a lot about him and thinking back on the day that Musaki rescued him out of Dai Ling's clutches, he knew that he woul owe him in a big way and suddenly, it was like there was something inside of him that felt joy and happiness all over him. He looked at him and he said, "You know, maybe celebrating the holidays...would be really great. I've let myself miss out on it for so long."

Musaki suddenly lit up and hopes that something ws sinking in and he asked, "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

Arizona smiled at him and he said, "I think I might celebrate Christmas with you guys."

Musaki immediately hugged him tightly and he felt so much joy coming out of him that he said that and he said, "Christmas would be like any other day without you."

Arizona accepted the hug as well and then, they both looked at the entire Valley of Peace as the snow falls and then, the wolf asked, "I'm not gonna drink eggnog, am I?"

Musaki chuckled softly at that comment and he said, "I think you're underage to even drink eggnog."

They both started laughing together and at that moment, Arizona had finally found his holiday spirit that was hidden away for years. Once again, he owes it all to Musaki for giving him everything or restoring everything that he's lost. They were both unaware that a certain red panda was observing this happening and Shifu made a smile and said, "He's found his holiday spirit. Well done, Musaki."

* * *

><p>Yes! He got his spirit! How awesome is that? On the next chapter...Musaki will have some guests coming in. Of course, this next chapter for Joe 'Po' Navark and Wonder Panda Tan-Tan. Wanna know who I'm bringing in? You'll have to find out.<p> 


	10. Holiday Visitors

So...this one is for Wonder Panda Tan-Tan and Joe 'Po' Navark. Guess who makes an appearance?

* * *

><p>Chapter 10: Holiday Visitors<p>

A couple of minutes later, Musaki and Arizona were walking back to the Jade Palace and for the first time, Arizona seemed really happy and is really looking forward to the holidays and Musaki knew that he found his holiday spirit that has been hidden inside of him for so long. Everyone in the valley greeted them and said 'Happy Holidays' to them. Arizona found it weird that random people would wish them a happy holiday and he asked them, "How come everyone says happy holidays to us? Most of them don't even know us."

"Well...most of them are in a holiday mood and even people they never knew or met before wish them a happy holiday to make sure their holiday is really a great one." Musaki answered.

"Wow. I never actually knew that."

Musaki looked at Arizona and he asked, "What made you change your mind about celebrating Christmas with us?"

Arizona sighed heavily at that question Musaki gave him, but since he found his spirit he just thought it would be a good idea to give him an honest answer. He told him, "Up until now and sometimes yesterday, I've always been so gloomy and sad during the holidays because my memories of the holidays was nothing but a big blank to me and I didn't want anyone to know that I didn't remember my first Christmas. But when you said that you were gonna do everything you can to find my holiday spirit, I just felt like...like you really cared that much to do so. Little by little, it was hiding from me for so long and I just didn't want you to see that I wasn't gonna participate because of my sadness. You've done everything for you and it would be painful for you to see that you were helpless in helping me. So...maybe celebrating the holidays with you guys wouldn't be that bad."

Musaki smiled at him and he said, "Great choice, dude."

As soon as they got to the steps, Shifu was standing in front of them waiting for them to come up and both of them thought that they might be in trouble for something and Musaki said, "Hey, master."

"Musaki, we have some guests over that are gonna spend the holidays with us." Shifu added.

Arizona and Musaki looked at each other in confusion and they both asked, in unison, "Visitors?"

When they got in the Sacred hall of Warriors, they were surprised to see some of Musaki's friends inside there. To his shock, he sees his best friends; Ichi, Fu, Kaguya, Ren and Jo all around the Moon Pool and he started laughing in joy and exclaimed, "Hey, you guys!"

Everyone turns around and sees Musaki standing there and they were running towards him , saying hello numerous times. Musaki chuckled softly and asked, "How you guys doing?"

Ichi laughs heartly and replied, "Doing great. We're here for the holidays!"

"I can see that! I'm just excited to see all of you guys."

Jo went to Musaki and he gave him a huge hug and he said, "Did we surprise you?"

"Kinda, yeah." Musaki replied.

Musaki stood up, smiling and then he turned to Arizona and introduced them to him. Musaki said, "Ichi, you remember Arizona."

"Hey, how you doing?" asked Ichi.

"Great, thanks." Arizona replied.

Soon enough, Ichi and Arizona did their first secret handshake together, where they gave each other high-fives, knuckle touches, twisted their fists and made an explosion sounding noise. Musaki was intrigued by that greeting and he said, "How'd you come up with that?"

"Just did." Ichi replied, then laughs.

Arizona introduced himself to the rest of them and he said, "Hey, I'm Li-Xiao Arizona. But you can call just 'Arizona'."

"These are my other friends; Fu, Kaguya, Jo and Ren. Guys, this is Arizona." Musaki said.

"Nice to meet you." Ren said, shaking his hand.

Kaguya looked at him and she asked, "You do know you're a wolf, right?"

Arizona chuckled lightly at the comment and he replied, "Yeah. But I'm not like other wolves out there."

She looked at him deep in the eyes and she came a little closer to him and she said, "No problem there because you look awfully cute."

That made Arizona blush a little bit and Ichi just started laughing hysterically at that and he asked, "Are you serious?"

Kaguya rolled her eyes at Ichi and said, "Just a compliment."

"Or asking him out on a date."

Fu starts giggling a little and told Arizona, "Don't mind them. They're like always like that...sometimes."

Jo goes up to Arizona and he asked, "You're not a werewolf or anything, aren't ya?"

"No. Not really." Arizona replied.

Arizona then looked at Ren and he never saw anyone like him before and he asked, "What's with the all-black clothing?"

"Dude, I'm a tanuki." Ren replied, with his arms crossed, looking cool.

Arizona has never heard of one before and he asked, "What's a tanuki?"

Musaki laughs at that and he said, "Well, now that we introduced each other to Arizona, what brings you guys here to celebrate with us?"

Ichi explained to them and he said, "Me, Fu and Kaguya got into the holiday spirit and thanks to Po for helping me find it, I decided that we might come back and celebrate that time of year. Also, we wanted to check in our best friend. We talked Ren into going with us because he lost a bet of who's got the most firepower and it ended up with him accidently burning his pants."

Musaki snickered and then burst out laughing at this and Ren scoffed at this amusement and he said, "Because you made me lose focus."

"Not my fault. Along the way, we met Jo and he told me that he was gonna spend the holidays here as well and we told him to come with us."

Jo chuckled softly and he also replied, "Yeah, they seem cool. Especially when it comes to Ren repeating that he'll use his ice power to anyone that serves him eggnog."

Musaki looked up and he started laughing and asked, "Did you really say that?"

"Yeah, and I really would do it." Ren added.

Hours later, the gang went to Musaki's room for a little sleepover where they just started laughing and talking with each other. Musaki and Arizona, along with Kazuo, Shing, Zeke and Ruiz joined in on the action too. Ichi started telling them about the time that he used his fire power and ended up with Po's pants being burned.

"No way! Did that really happen?" asked Arizona.

Ichi kept laughing and he said, "Yeah it did! It was so funny."

"Man, that must've been embarassing for him."

"But not as cool as the time when you came to Shanghai Secluded Valley with me last month, you were so scared to ride on my uncle's dragon." Musaki added.

"Whoa! You rode on a dragon?" asked Kaguya, in shock.

"We all did." Ruiz added.

"And still lived?"

"I could never ride on a dragon...unless the Dragon Warrior would come along for the ride." Jo said.

Zeke snickered at that comment and he said, "Even if Po could, he'd puke while he's in the air."

Musaki and Ichi started laughing at that joke and Ichi said, "I can just imagine it playing in my head."

Arizona wanted to know a few things abotu Jo and he asked, "So...how'd you know Po?"

"Well...I first met him while I was in Kung Fu Summer Camp here in the Jade Palace and at that time, it was kinda hard for me to fit in with anyone else because I'm so different. Sometimes, I question myself about how I'm different and like...things of that nature. We've grown to be such close friends and he became my mentor throughout because I was intrested in kung-fu. He told me that I'll be the Next Dragon Warrior one of these days, but it's totally up to the universe to know who would it be." Jo explained.

"Interesting."

"When I met Musaki, I felt like we can connect in a big way because him and I-it's like two parts of us are connected because we're both so different, yet we have a few things in common."

"We still do." Musaki said.

Ruiz then asked Musaki, "How'd you meet Ichi?"

"Actually, Ichi saved my life one day when I was attacked by some boars and he told me that he was at the Bao Gu Orphanage. Sometimes, I wish we would've met back then because it would've been awesome to have someone who's been through much worse things than me." Musaki replied.

"True story. We both like to sing, write, do kung-fu, dance and often times...understand each other really well because we both lost our parents at a very early age. So it's like we're brothers in a way." Ichi agreed.

Ren then asked Arizona, "You looking forward to Christmas?"

Arizona replied, "Well, I almost didn't want to."

That surprised Kaguya, Ichi, Fu, Ren, Jo, Ruiz, Kazuo and Shing and they let out a collective, "WHAT?"

"I never had the holiday spirit growing up. I...lost my memories of my first Christmas and I never remembered them since. Until Musaki came into my life, every year I endured severe beating and torture from my uncle Dai Ling for nearly 15 years." Arizona added.

"Man, that was brutal." Ren said, sympatheically.

"And he often tells me no one would waste their time celebrating something like this because it's all lies and everyone's stupid for celebrating this madness."

That enraged Kaguya to the fullest extent and she said, "If showed up here, I would give him a good what-for!"

"Yeah, he's dead." Zeke added.

"But it's a good thing too for making my life miserable all those years." Arizona said.

Ichi could understand where it went with losing a holiday spirit and regaining it and he said, "I understand how you feel. While I was living here, I never had the holiday spirit because I didn't remember my first Christmas and then Shifu tried his best to help me regain it and so did Po. It wasn't until Christmas Eve when I got back to memory lane and I saw my parents giving me my first present-Teddie. It's because of them I got my spirit back. You're lucky to have a friend like Musaki to help you get into the spirit of this holiday."

"Yeah, I do." Arizona added.

"Can I tell you guys something? It's our first time too." Ruiz said.

Musaki looked up in shock as they heard that it's their first time celebrating the holidays and asked, "Seriously?"

"Me, Shing and Kazuo-we never had a christmas before. Mine is usually spent being confined in that stupid tower for years. Shing and Kazuo lost their spirit years ago." Ruiz said.

It made Musaki feel like he can do the same thing he did for Arizona and he said, "It's not too late to gain it back."

Ruiz smiled at him and asked, "You think so?"

"Anything's possible." Jo added.

They all kept talking and talking and just enjoyed each other's company as they're looking forward to celebrating Christmas...including Arizona and the rest of them.

* * *

><p>How'd I do? What's christmas without being around good friends? On the next chapter, Arizona has a dream...about his first Christmas memory.<p> 


	11. Lost Memory Found

I decided to come up with this sequence because I wanted to see what Arizona was like when he was a little pup. It kinda came by accident or out of nowhere, but I hope this is enough to keep ya satisfied and feel for Arizona.

* * *

><p>Chapter 11: Lost Memory Found<p>

Later that night, everyone else was falling asleep and Arizona was asleep as well and all of sudden, he has a dream...about his past life.

_Dream_

_A young Arizona was just running around at his house at the Mu Zho Village, just chasing the snow. The young pup tried to catch every snowflake that was falling down and rolled around with his fur all covered in snow. Then, he sees his mother and he said, "Play with me, mama!"_

_His mother looked at her young pup and he was panting, wagging his tail and started giggling with excitement and she came in and just caught the snow together and then, she caught Arizona, growling playfully and they both rolled around in the snow and she just patted him gently._

_She looked at him with a smile and took a look in his hazel-blue eyes and licked his face and said, "That's my little Li-Xiao."_

_Just then, his father came out and saw both of them playing together and joined in on the fun as well. Arizona was bursting with energy and he chased after his dad and landed on his back and he climbs on top his head and said, "I caught ya, baba!"_

_His father chuckled softly and he said, "Yes, you did, my son. You caught your father."_

_Then, Arizona smiled at him and told him, "I love you."_

_"Love you too, son."_

_Just then, Arizona sets his paw on the ground and when he looked at it, he sees his pawprint underneath it there. He puts it back on the ground and sees the same print on there. His father went behind him and he said, "I see your pawprint, Li."_

_He looked at his dad and asked, "Paw..print?"_

_"You set your paw under the snow and everyone can pretty much see it." he explains._

_He then looks at his paw and sees that it has a little bit of snow and then he looks at his pawprint and made another one and it's the exact same one. He widened his eyes with excitement and said, "That's awesome."_

_"That it is."_

Reality

Suddenly, Arizona is dreaming about his past with his parents before they were both killed separately and he let out a small smile on his face and then, he opened his left eye and sees something on his bag that's sticking out and he reaches for his bag and out comes his little teddy bear. He took a look at it and is familiarized by his eyes and the smell of his own scent.

Then, he takes another trip into the past.

_Second dream_

_Christmas time came around and little Arizona was excited to see what his parents are gonna give him and he was wagging his tail with excitement after receiving quite a few things and his mother looked at him and she lets out a laugh and said, "Little Li-Xiao. Are you excited to see what else you got?"_

_He nodded his head quickly and his energy levels started bursting at the seams and suddenly, his father came in and gave him a little teddy bear. He gasped silently and looked totally excited for it and asked, "Is that mine?"_

_"Yes, it is." his father replied._

_He immediately got the bear and just hugged it tightly and started playing with it. His parents could tell he loves it and Arizona immediately went to them and said, "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! I love it!"_

_"I'm glad you like your present." his mother said._

_He looked at the bear and he said, "I'm gonna call you...Mizo."_

_They looked at each other and they figured out that Arizona named his present and they started to smile at him and Arizona said, "You're gonna be my best buddy forever and ever and ever and ever."_

_Then, he looked at his parents and saw them smiling and went to them and hugged both of them and he said, "I love you, mama and baba."_

_"We love you too, son." his father said, smiling._

_Then, he looked at them in the eyes and said, "I will never forget this day. It's the best one I had in my whole life."_

_His mother rubbed his head and his father patted him on the back and told him, "Always remember your first Christmas, little Li-Xiao. And there will more christmases to come and we'll always be there to see you happy."_

_"Together?" asked Arizona._

_"Yes, together."_

_Arizona smiled at him and got on his back and slept on his head with his little teddy bear in hand and his mother carried him and sung a little lullaby to her young son._

_When someone in the dark reaches out to you_

_and touches of a spark that comes shining through_

_It tells you, 'never be afraid'_

_Where somewhere in your heart you can feel the glow_

_A light to keep you warm when the night winds blow_

_Look for the rainbow in the sky_

_Oh, I believe you and I_

_can never really say goodbye_

_Wherever you may be, I'll look up and see_

_Someone in the dark for me_

_Wherever you may be, I'll look up and see_

_Someone in the dark for me_

_She kissed him in the head and whispered, "Good night, my little one."_

_His father rubbed his head and told him, "Merry christmas. We love you, son."_

Back to reality

Arizona looks up at the ceiling and tears immediately starts falling out of his face as he looks at his childhood teddy bear and just hugged it tightly to feel it again. At that moment, because of Musaki, he finally found his holiday spirit and his memory of his first Christmas. He whispered to his teddy bear, "I'll never let you go. I promise."

For the first time in his life, his childhood memories of his first Christmas what was once lost and forgotten is now found as well as his spirit.

Early morning comes around and Arizona was the only one awake and he just sat on the Sacred Peach Tree, looking at the snow falling down while holding on to his teddy bear. He looks at it and just realized that he's never looked at it for 14 years since his father was killed. Then, he sees a little piece of paper on the pouch and when he opened it up, he sees a picture of himself when he was one along with his parents. A few drops of tears falls down on there and he was overfilled with many mixed emotions that it's hard to tell what he feels.

He blinks softly and wiped his eyes and sniffled a little and whispered, "I'll keep you in my heart."

He sets it down and he sees Musaki, Ichi and Jo standing there behind him and he quickly wiped his eyes so that no one sees that he was crying, but it wasn't invisible to Musaki because he sensed that there was something up. He comes to him and he asked, "You okay?"

Arizona sighed heavily and replied, in a tearful voice, "I'm great, actually."

Then, Ichi looks at the teddy bear that he's holding and he quickly asked, "What you got there?"

"It was my first Christmas present I ever had when I was a pup." Arizona replied.

Suddenly, it clicked into Musaki's head. He grew into a state of shock that he actually remembered his first Christmas present. He asked, "You mean...you remembered?"

"I guess I was asleep last night and somehow, the memory of my first Christmas came up where I used to play with mom and dad in the snow and that I got my first present." Arizona explained.

He then shows them the teddy bear he's gotten and all of them gasped in awe as they saw it for the first time and Ichi said, "That looks really cute."

"I haven't seen it in 14 years after my dad died and I guess I just forgot the rest of my Christmas memories until just now. I think it gave me a boost on gaining my holiday spirit back."

Then, Musaki puts his hand on his shoulder and told him, "Looks like you've found that spirit."

"It's because of you that I got it back." he said, with a smile.

Jo then asked Arizona, "How long ago did you lose your memory?"

"When I was three. I'm 17 now."

Ichi quickly told him, "Well now that you got memories back, wanna do something fun today?"

"Like what?"

Musaki scoffed at that comment and he said, "Dude, it's Christmas Eve. One more day left."

Arizona was excited to hear that it's almost Christmas and with getting his memories back as well as his spirit, he feels like he can actually have some fun and make up for all the times he lost over the years and he looked at them with a smile and said, "Let's make the most of it."

All three of them cheered and Ichi told Jo to race him back to the Sacred Hall of Warriors and they ran off, leaving Arizona and Musaki laughing softly and Musaki was happy for Arizona and he said, "This will be a great holiday for ya."

Arizona smiled as well and added, "It already has...and you gave it all back. One day, I wanna be like you."

Musaki scratched the back of his neck and he could tell that Arizona looks up to him as his hero and he said, "Thanks, man. Let's enjoy Christmas Eve."

* * *

><p>That lullaby was 'Someone in the Dark' from Michael Jackson. Long live the K.O.P. (King of Pop)! Next chapter...Christmas Eve fun! Does this not toug your heartstring?<p> 


	12. Best Christmas Eve

Christmas eve time!

* * *

><p>Chapter 12: Best Christmas Eve<p>

Christmas Eve-

Musaki, Arizona, Zeke, Jo, Kaguya, Ichi, Fu and Ren got together with Ruiz, Kazuo and Shing as they walked across the Valley of Peace to enjoy one more day until Christmas time and that made Arizona feel completely ready for the holidays and they were just laughing and having fun with each other like never before.

Then, one of Musaki's cousins sees him along with some others and he came out of the house and exclaimed, "Hey, cuz!"

Musaki stops for a minute and he sees Samurai calling him and he shouts in excitement as he comes in and gives him a hug and told him, "Merry Christmas, cuz!"

Samurai started laughing at the comment and he said, "Dude, christmas is tomorrow."

"I know. Isn't it awesome?"

"I can't wait for it either. Simply because I'm turning 18 two days before New Years." Samurai explained.

Musaki gasped in shock and realize that Samurai is turning into a young adult and he starts laughing and said, "That's really cool! Happy early birthday, Sam!"

Samurai chuckled happily and said, "Thanks, Saki."

Just then, the rest of the gang came by as well and Samurai looks at everyone and he said, "What's up, guys?"

"Not much. We're just hanging out with each other." Ruiz answered.

Musaki introduced most of his friends to Samurai and he told him, "Samurai, there are some of my friends...Ichi, Fu, Kaguya, Ren and Jo. Guys, this is my cousin Samurai."

"Nice to meet you guys." Samurai said, happily.

"Same here." Ichi said.

"Happy early birthday, Samurai." Jo said.

"Thanks, little guy."

Zeke went up to Samurai and patted him on the back and said, "You're growing up, aren't you?"

"Yep. I can't say that I'm gonna miss being 17, but I've got 4 days until I'm graduating from teenhood." Samurai said.

Just then, Max comes out from behind and he immediately goes to Arizona and hugs him tightly and he said, "Hey, big bro!"

Arizona was surprised to see Max feeling really happy and he asked, "How you doing, buddy?"

Max chuckled softly and replied, "I'm doing awesome!"

"Excited about Christmas?"

Max burst into full energy and exclaimed, "I wish it would come now."

Arizona was definitely surprised that Max was looking forward to Christmas because before then, he told him he wasn't sure about it. He then smiled at him because he figured he found his holiday spirit and he asked Samurai, "He's looking forward to Christmas, huh?"

Samurai stared at him and he replied, "Yeah. Compared to a few days before, he didn't know if he was gonna celebrate it with us because he told me that it's the first time celebrating it with us after he was adopted with us. So, my dad told him that it's gonna be a lot of fun with us with his new brothers and sisters and that everything will be okay. The minute my dad put on an elf costume, it made Max laugh in hysterics that he just completely had second thoughts about missing out on a holiday like this."

"Well, your cousin totally gave me my holiday spirit back. I don't think I'll ever be able to thank him enough for all the things he's done for me." Arizona added.

That made Samurai perk up with happiness to know that Musaki would definitely enlighten Arizona's life and Musaki told Max, "You guys can spend most of the morning with us at the Jade Palace."

Max gasped with excitement and he asked, "Really?"

"Oh yeah. It'll be a lot of fun."

Soon enough, Samurai overheard what Max and Musaki were talking about and he said, "That'd be really great. We did it last year and there's no doubt we'll do it again this year."

Musaki smiled at that and that he was looking forward to Christmas Day. He clears his throat and he said, "Cool. We gotta get going back to the Palace. Shifu's taking all of us to a little Christmas party somewhere further from the Valley of Peace later tonight and then we're gonna head to Mr. Ping's noodle shop for another Christmas Party."

"That'd be awesome. Have fun, guys." Samurai said.

Everyone said their 'goodbyes' as they head out, but then Samurai asked Musaki, "You think I can receive a kiss from Tigress for my birthday?"

Musaki scoffs and rolled his eyes and said, "Don't count on it, dude."

Later on, they all went back to the Jade palace and they saw Shifu standing on front of the doors, wearing his silver cloak and Ichi asked, "What's with the formal cloak?"

Shifu chuckled at that comment and replied, "We're going to the Christmas party. Everyone of the masters were waiting for you to come back."

"Well, we're here now." Zeke explained.

Just then, Po and the Furious Five came out with their holiday outfits, looking eager to have a good Christmas Eve and soon enough, they went on their way to the best holiday party they ever went to. For Arizona, it was his very first time going to one of them and he seemed very excited about this. Musaki had a good feeling that this will be fun.

When they got there, they saw this massive temple in front of them with millions of Christmas decorations and everyone but Shifu and the Five dropped their jaws when they saw this. Po gasped loudly and asked, "What is that?"

"That would be Takei Village, panda." Shifu answered.

Mantis hopped on Po's shoulder and he said, "The temple looks as big as...well you know."

Po didn't know what he was talking about, thinking that it might as big as the Dragon Warrior. he then got bakc on Monkey's shoulder and Monkey said, "Nice save."

They all went in there and to their added surprise, the entire village was decked out with millions of holiday decorations and people walking around enjoying it. Musaki chuckled and said, "That is freakin' insane, dude."

"I'll say." Arizona said, looking around.

As they were walking around, a few girls waved at Ren and started giggling over how cute he looks. Ren kinda looks at them and just waved back and added a wink, making the girls stare at him even more. Then, Ichi looks at Ren, glaring at him with a 'dude what are you doing' look and asked, "Really?"

Ren didn't know what to say about that and he replied, "Well, sometimes...a girl barely catches your attention when you're a tanuki."

"Dude, you attract Saya more than any other girl."

Just then, all of them headed to this humongous temple where everyone is having fun at this party. All eyes were widened when they stepped in there and everyone was being greeted by most of the hosts of the party, making them feel welcomed as well.

Musaki, Arizona, Ichi and Jo were walking across the temple and sees them dance as well and Musaki figured that he can dance as well, so he built up some momentum and just let loose as they played a fast song and danced his heart out. Arizona, Ichi and Jo were impressed with his dance skills, but it was Ichi that was the most amazed because he never lost a beat for it. Musaki attempted a little kung-fu/backflip move where he was breakdancing and spinning around the floor with his legs in the air, just going absoultely insane.

Ichi chuckled and he said, "Pretty good, but I think you can do better."

Musaki sensed that Ichi was challenging him and he said, "Do I sense a dance-off?"

"Oh yeah."

Both Musaki and Ichi were dancing each other off to determine who's got the best moves and so far, Musaki ups the ante everytime, but Ichi was warmed up for some more skills that he was gonna bring and just did a backflip and spun around the floor with his finger on the floor. They were unaware that the entire crowd was witnessing this, creating this spectating event.

"Come on, Musaki! Kick Ichi's butt!" Ren shouted.

Musaki decides to pull out all the stops for more moves and plans to add a little kung-fu in them. Ichi did the same and they wrapped it up with a huge backflip, frontflip, spinning around the room and completely danced their hearts out with the best breakdance move they could ever do and when it was all over, everyone in the crowd was cheering and applauding louder than ever.

They looked around and sees that they're cheering for both of them and Arizona was the most amazed by those moves and he said, "I wish I could do that."

Meanwhile, Po completely went towards them and said, "Wow! You guys rocked it out!"

Po tried his best to do a re-enactment of Musaki and Ichi's showdown moves, which results into him shaking his ginormous butt all over the place while making some weird noises. Both of them looked at each other and said in unison, "We don't do that."

Mantis and Monkey went towards Po after witnessing him shaking his big rear and Monkey said, "You've got panda back. Let's hope you don't shake it to the left and the right again."

Later on, Arizona walked past the crowd, but is totally unaware that he's under the mistletoe and before he could find out what it meant, out of the blue, 12 girls came behind him and kissed him on the cheek. He exhaled deeply and said, "Wow."

Meanwhile, Ichi and Musaki were hanging with Ruiz, Arizona and the others as they were having a good time and suddenly, a young 14 year old tiger sees Musaki and recognized his blue eyes and she asked, "Musaki?"

Musaki turned around and he was surprised to see his old friend again. He exclaimed, "Naomi!"

They hugged each other deeply and he asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Well...I heard about this Christmas party, so I decided to come over and just have some fun. I didn't expect to see you here." Naomi said, smiling.

"Neither did I."

Ichi started snickering and Musaki turned around and asked, "What's so funny?"

"Are you guys...like...together or something?"

They looked at each other and immediately replied, "No!"

"We're best friends, actually." Musaki added.

"Right..."

Musaki rolled his eyes at him and tells Naomi, "This is Ichi and that's his sister, Fu, his cousin Ren and his friend Kaguya-scratch that-_girlfriend_."

Ichi laughs sarcastically at that remark and he said, "Whatever."

"And that's my other friend, Jo. Of course, you remember Arizona."

"Hi, you guys." Naomi said.

Everyone said 'hello' to her and everyone just started talking to each other and all of a sudden, someone called up Musaki to sing a little song for someone he's crushing on. Naomi smiled at him and said, "Sing your heart out, Saki."

He took a deep breath and decided to go for it. He had a crush on someone anyway and thought it would be the best thing to let it all out. He got on stage and said, "That was unexpected, but anyway...this song goes out to one girl that I had a crush on for months now. I don't know if she knows this, but other people would give her a hard time and say things to her that really makes her feel like she's worthless. But I know for a fact that she's anything but worthless and that she is beautiful...just the way she is."

As the song started playing, he had his eyes on Naomi and he quickly said, "I wrote this song for you, Naomi."

She was shocked to know that he felt that way about her and started geeking out about it as he starts to sing.

_Ohh, her eyes, her eyes_

_make the stars look like they're not shining_

_Her hair, hair hair_

_falls perfectly without her trying_

_She's so beautiful...and I tell her everyday_

_Yeah, I know, I know_

_When I compliment her, she won't believe me_

_And it's so, it's so_

_sad to think that she don't see what I see_

_But everytime she asks me 'Do I look okay?'_

_I say..._

_When I see your face_

_There's not a thing that I would change_

_Because you're amazing_

_just the way you are_

_And when you smile_

_the whole world stops and stares for a while_

_Cuz girl you're amazing_

_Just the way you are_

_Yeah..._

_Her lips, her lips_

_I could kiss them all day if she'd let me_

_Her laugh, her laugh_

_she hates but I think it's so pretty_

_She's so beautiful...and I tell her everyday_

_Ohh, you know, you know, you know_

_I'd never ask you to change_

_If perfect's what you're searching for_

_then, just stay the same_

_So...don't even bother asking if you look okay_

_You know I'll say..._

_When I see your face_

_there's not a thing that I would change_

_Cuz you're amazing_

_Just the way you are_

_And when you smile_

_the whole world stops and stares for a while_

_Cuz girl you're amazing_

_Just the way you are_

_The way you are..._

_The way you are..._

_Girl, you're amazing_

_just the way you are_

_When I see your face_

_there's not a thing that I would change_

_Because you're amazing_

_Just the way you are_

_And when you smile_

_the whole world stops and stares for a while_

_Cuz girl you're amazing_

_Just the way you are..._

_Yeah..._

That touched Naomi's heartstrings as she stood up and cheered for him as well as everyone else in the audience. She immediately got her mistletoe as he raced through the stage and gave him a kiss on the lips. It provoked shock for Musaki to know that it was his first kiss, but at the same time, he still sees her as his friend and he hugged her.

She looked at him and said, "That's the most beautiful thing I've ever heard."

"Well, I had a crush on you when we met." Musaki answered.

And then, it was her turn to sing and she said, "This is for that one guy that sang that song for me and since we met, I felt like we can connect in a million ways and he accepts me for who I am when no one else could. When I look at this guy...I see someone who has a way of making me feel stronger and more happy to be me."

As the music plays, Musaki got back to his seat as Naomi sung her heart out to Musaki.

_Everybody needs inspiration_

_Everybody needs a song_

_A beautiful melody_

_When the nights are long_

_Cuz there is no guarantee_

_that this life is easy_

_Yeah, when my world is falling apart_

_When there's no light to break up the dark_

_That's when I, I, I look at you_

_When the waves are flooding the shore_

_And I can't find my way home anymore_

_That's when I, I, I look at you_

_When I look at you_

_I see forgiveness_

_I see the truth_

_You love me for who I am_

_Like the stars hold the moon_

_Right there where they belong_

_And I know I'm not alone_

_Yeah, when my world is falling apart_

_When there's no light to break up the dark_

_That's when I, I, I look at you_

_When the waves are flooding the shore_

_And I can't find my way home anymore_

_That's when I, I, I look at you_

_You appear just like a dream to me_

_Just like kaleidoscope colors that_

_cover me, all I need_

_Every breath that I breathe_

_Don't you know you're beautiful?_

_Yeah, yeah_

_When the waves are flooding the shore_

_And i can't find my way home anymore_

_That's when I, I, I look at you_

_I look at you_

_Yeah, yeah, ohhh-oh_

_And you appear just like a dream to me..._

The crowd cheered for both her and him and Musaki totally felt like this was the sweetest thing he's ever done for anyone. He smiled at her and Ichi gently punched him in the arm and said, "Looks like I'm not the only one who's the ladies' man."

Musaki chuckled softly and said, "Shut up, dude."

Later on, everyone of the Five completely became awestruck with Musaki expressing his true feelings with Naomi and Crane said, "Sounds like Lil' Saki's got a girlfriend."

Musaki rolled his eyes and said, "She's a friend."

Arizona was completely impressed with Musaki and he said, "Now I really wanna be like you. I hope I have the right girl for me."

He smiled at him and he said, "You will. Trust me."

And then, everyone gathers around the roof of the temple to see the Christmas fireworks pop out of the sky and there was music and everyone's dancing to it. And for the first time, Arizona was having fun along with Musaki and the rest of them and it felt like it was gonna be the best Christmas Eve he's ever had.

Immediately after the party, they left a little early to head back to the Valley of Peace to attend the other Christmas party at Mr. Ping's Noodle Shop. As soon as they arrived, a few people were coming over and Po sprinted over to get prepped up and the others followed suit. While they got the food ready, Musaki hung out with Arizona, Ichi and the others and they were still talking about the kiss back at the party.

Musaki tried to change the subject, but Ichi made some kissy faces while everyone else laughed. Musaki rolled his eyes and said, "It was just a kiss. I didn't even know it was happening."

"You probably expect it to happen." Zeke added.

"Oh come on. I was doing a nice thing for her. But I wasn't the only one getting winks from a girl."

That comment aimed directly at Ren and he laughs sarcastically and said, "Oh, don't even go there."

Jo looks at Musaki in the eyes and asked, "Are you getting Arizona something for Christmas?"

"It's super top-secret. It has to wait until tomorrow." Musaki replied, softly.

Ichi hung a piece of noodle on his nose, making Kaguya and Fu laugh out loud and Musaki said, "You look like Shifu."

"But at least I'm funnier than him." Ichi retorted.

Arizona and Ruiz were also talking as well and it seemed like everyone is having a lot of fun and all Po could do is stand over and watch them enjoy themselves and it was the best sight he's ever seen in a long time. Shifu looked over and he asked, "You okay, Dragon Warrior?"

"Yeah. I'm just happy for Arizona having fun for the first time. Another epic win for the Saki-man." Po said.

Shifu couldn't help but smile while witnessing them putting a string of noodles on their nose and chuckled a little. He then told him, "Arizona spirit is found, for sure."

"Hey, Arizona. Your dance skills were really awesome when everyone was dancing back at that temple." Musaki added.

"Yeah, but it gave me laughs when Po was shaking his butt all over the place." Arizona said, smiling.

Everyone was laughing with him including Arizona and they continued to have fun and it was the best christmas eve they ever had in their lives and he knows that he'll always remember this Christmas.

Later that night, back at the bunkhouse, Musaki quietly went to the Sacred Hall of Warriors with Arizona's present he bought for him and planned to place it in front of the tree without anyone knowing about it. When he went in, he was surprised to see Arizona putting his present under the tree as well. Then, he went into hiding hoping that he wouldn't get caught. Musaki then snuck the present under the tree and suddenly, Arizona popped his head out of nowhere and sees Musaki walking out.

'Did he know about his present?' Arizona thought.

'I hope he sees it tomorrow.' Musaki thought.

And then, Musaki saw Arizona's tail sticking out and he feared that he was thinking that he knew about the present he was gonna give him and he whispered, "Zona?"

Arizona heard him call his name and faced himself in front of him and asked, "What are you doing here?"

"I was about to ask you the same question myself." Musaki replied.

Arizona chuckled nervously and so did Musaki and they both said in unison, "I was gonna...put your present under the tree."

They looked at each other and said again, "You were?"

Musaki went first and he said, "I wanted to give you something that I hope will bring back your holiday spirit and to show what a great friend you are."

That warmed Arizona's heart and he also told him, "I did the same thing as well after what you've done for me these past couple of months."

"I guess we'll see each other's presents tomorrow then." Musaki said, happily.

"Yeah, it's almost Christmas Day. This Christmas Eve was so awesome that I can't wait for tomorrow." Arizona said, with glee.

"I know, me neither."

Both of them walked out of the palace, just talking and laughing, looking totally excited for Christmas Day to come and that it'll be an awesome experience neither of them will ever forget.

* * *

><p>Naomi is owned by seylenagomez. If you guys haven't read her fics, please do so. (examples: 'Strong Bonds Can't Be Broken', 'Empty Darkness' and 'Gift of a Friend'). Don't know where that came from, but I just thought it'd be a sweet part. The songs were 'Just the Way You Are' from Bruno Mars and 'When I Look At You' from Miley Cyrus. Surprised that Musaki got his first kiss? Onward to the last chapter!<p> 


	13. A Christmas to Remember

And it's here...Christmas Day!

* * *

><p>Chapter 13: A Christmas to Remember<p>

The next day, it was the moment that everyone has been looking forward to...Christmas Day!

As the snow falls on the Jade Palace, Arizona was the only one wide awake and for the first time in his life, he felt like this will be his happy moment that he can savor. He walked towards the Sacred Hall of Warriors and as he entered the palace doors, he sees Musaki and Shifu standing in front of the Christmas tree. Musaki turned around and he sees a very excited Arizona just walking in and he said, "Merry Christmas, Zona!"

The young wolf chuckled softly and let the entire moment soak in and replied, "You too."

Shifu sees Arizona looking really excited and he felt happy for him as well and he said, "It took a long time to gain your spirit back."

Arizona chuckled softly and said, "Yeah, I know."

"What was the breakthrough?" asked Shifu.

Arizona sighed happily and replied, "Well, I kinda took a trip to memory lane while I was asleep a couple of nights ago and remembered when I was a pup, I just played in the snow with my parents and they gave me my first present. I told myself that I would remember that day, but I guess I just forgot when I got older. But now...I've regained them and I'll always treasure those moments that I lost."

That made Musaki bright up with lots of happiness and he said, "I'm proud of you, Arizona. Let's hope you treasure this one."

To hear Musaki tell him that he's proud made him completely washed away every ounce of misery that he's beeen sinking in for years and he went and hugged him tightly and whispered, "Thank you, Musaki."

Just then, Po burst through the doors, just sprinting through the tree, laughing excitedly and asked, "What'd I get? What'd I get? What'd I get?"

Shifu smacked Po in the head with his flute and said, "This. Keep yourself calm, panda. We have to wait until everyone else gets here."

"I can't wait any longer, Shifu! It's Christmas! I'm so excited about opening the presents, I think I might pee!"

Musaki groaned in disgust and Arizona rolled his eyes and chuckled humorously and Musaki told him, "Let's not go there because the last thing we need to see is an excited Dragon Warrior peeing himself with excitement."

Not long after, the rest of the kung-fu masters entered the palace, all excited for what they got for Christmas. Shifu turns around and sees his students there and he said, "Merry Christmas, students."

"Same here, master." the five said.

Minutes later, they immediately started opening up some gifts. For Viper, she had a purple and red ribbon, for Crane, some new calligraphy set, for Mantis, another set of acupuncture needles, for Monkey, 5 prank books and for Tigress, a new headband. Musaki could see that Tigress was a little stone-faced when she received her gift because he knows that she's really screaming in joy for it. He rolled his eyes and asked her, "Why aren't you excited?"

"I am. I'm very excited that I got this." Tigress replied.

Musaki could see in her face that she's lying and he told her, "Just let it out. There's nothing wrong with you screaming up and down like a hyper girl after getting a kiss from the Dragon Warrior."

Tigress seemed shocked to find out about it and Musaki rose his eyebrows and let out a mischeivous chuckle and he said, "I saw you and Po under the misletoe and you got all 'oh my gosh, I got kissed by the Dragon Warrior!' and that kind of thing."

She rolled her eyes, but while Musaki wasn't looking, she was laughing in excitement over his gift and to Musaki's surprise, he chuckled and said, "Bonus points for the Saki-man."

And then, he sees Ichi, Fu, Kaguya, Ren, Ruiz, Shing, Kazuo and Zeke entering in the palace, waiting to see what they got for Christmas. They greeted Musaki as they walked past him with every present they got. Not far behind them is Jo and Musaki went over to him and asked, "How ya been?"

Jo replied, "Doing good actually. Just can't wait to see what I got."

As Jo went under the tree, he sees one that says it's from Musaki to Jo and when he opened the present, he sees an action figure of himself with Po and that made him completely amazed and shocked to see something like this. He quickly went up to him and he said, "That's me and Po."

"Yeah, I know a guy from Shanghai Secluded Valley that makes action figures and the picture you gave me a few years back and after hearing you becoming the next Dragon Warrior and all, I went to him and told him to do an action figure of yourself and Po together." Musaki replied.

He was still in shock, but he was happy to see this and gave him a huge hug and said, "Thanks, Musaki!"

"Hey, we're buds, right?"

They gave each other some knuckle touches and then, Ichi called Musaki over to see something and to his surprise, they see a manga of him and Ichi together calling it 'Two Warrior Friends'. That made Musaki's jaw drop lower and he said, "Dude...that's us!"

"Yeah, isn't that awesome?" Ichi asked, in delight.

"Freakin' awesome is a better word for it!"

Meanwhile, Arizona looked under the tree for his gift and then, he sees one that said 'To Arizona, from Musaki' and he was looking forward to see what it is and he sees a yin-and-yang necklace and he widened his eyes to see that it's really from him. He wore it around his neck and sees that they balance each other as friends pretty well. Musaki comes from behind and he sees that he's wearing the necklace and Arizona turns around to see him and Musaki asked, "You like it?"

Arizona smiled at him and he replied, "I do. Why me?"

"I just didn't want you to feel like you're giving up on your spirit, so I decided for this one so you can balance yourself where you won't fall. It's a token of our friendship."

It made Arizona happy that he would do this for him. So much so that he reaches down and gave him his present to Musaki and when he opened it up, he sees the yin and yang bandana and he was floored by it. He chuckled softly and he said, "It's a yin and yang bandana. How'd you know?"

"Since you cared enough for me to help me get my holiday spirit back, I decided the one thing to repay you for your kindness is to give you a gift as well." Arizona replied.

Musaki tried it on and he suddenly felt like he was a real warrior and he turned to Arizona and he said, "Thanks, dude."

"No, thank you...for getting my spirit back."

Both of them hugged each other deeply, each feeling happy about their friendship and that it'll get stronger than everything. Suddenly, Musaki sees all of his cousins and his Uncle Mako coming in the palace, shouting, "Merry Christmas!"

They all went to him giving him an enormous group hug and he said, "Merry Christmas to you guys too."

Max then came to Arizona and wished him a merry christmas and gave him a gift and when he opened it, he sees a picture frame of him and Max being goofy together and just smiling as well. He chuckled softly and he said, "That's us."

"Yeah, even though I have new brothers and sisters, I always thought of you as my own big brother and...it means a lot that I can actually be friends with someone who will always be there for me and to have fun with." Max explained.

It made Arizona's heart grow bigger and bigger than ever and he also gave him a gift as well and when Max opened it, it was a wrist bracelet that said, 'Be strong and overcome everything' and he looked at Arizona and he said, "I'm glad to call you my wolf brother."

"And I'm glad to call you my tiger brother." Arizona said.

Both of them reached out for a hug and Musaki looked over and sees that the holiday spirit has been returned. Shifu then looks at Musaki and he said, "Happy, aren't you?"

"Very. I think this will be the one Christmas he'll never forget." Musaki added.

Then, Arizona came to him and said, "I think I'll remember this Christmas for the rest of my life."

"So will I."

Then, they both looked at the camera, without anyone noticing and both of them shouted, "Merry Christmas! Thanks for reading!"

* * *

><p>And...that's a wrap! Hope ya'll like this one! Merry Christmas from Animation Universe 2005!<p> 


	14. Bonus Chapter

Thank you to anyone that followed 'Finding that Holiday Spirit'. And I close off this fic with a bonus one...Arizona celebrating the new year!

* * *

><p>Bonus Chapter: A New Year<p>

Six days later...

New Year's Eve; Valley of Peace

The sun starts to set and at the Jade Palace, everyone was excited for the new year to come in, including Musaki. He was uber-excited to have this happening, because it's the best time to start all over and make new goals and also because he's excited about turning 17 soon. He walks across the Peach Tree and he sees Arizona sitting there watching the sun go down. He walks over to him and he asked, "So...first time celebrating New Years, huh?"

Arizona looks up at Musaki and replied, "Yeah, I guess. I mean, I've heard of it, but I never actually celebrated it before. Every year in Kong Wolf City, Dai Ling's comrades way to celebrating new years is making new goals to being torture to the innocent, making my life more miserable and when they party, they usually get drunk, make out with random girls and party until they're passed out. And sometimes...most of them were mating."

Musaki had a little mental picture in his head about that explanation about mating on new years and he said, "I think I can live my whole life without that picture in my head."

"It's scary." Arizona shuddered.

Musaki shook it off and he smiled at him and said, "Well...ours is gonna be a little different. We have confetti, fireworks, streamers and everything fun. We totally know how to rock a new year."

Arizona felt like he was gonna take his word for it and he wanted some fun for once and he said, "What do you guys normally do?"

Seconds later, Shifu explained to Arizona, Ruiz, Shing and Kazuo about how they celebrate New years and said, "We have a huge festival in the valley of peace where everyone in the entire town celebrates the new year. It's usually about 500 valley residents or travelers that come here and we're the ones that bring in all the fun; dancing, food and making new years resoultions."

"Sounds really awesome." Shing replied.

"Since you're new members, what are you new years resoultions?"

Shing tried to think of one and then he said, "Be a better brother and student and hopefully to prove myself to be an awesome kung-fu master."

Then it was Kazuo's turn to think of one himself and replied, "Get used to a new life and just enjoy life, period."

Ruiz had his turn and also said, "I'm hoping to just live my life the way I would live; no violence and also just live a peaceful life that I never had."

Then, Shifu looks at Arizona and he wasn't sure how to make a new goal mfor himself, but after everything that's happened, he had the strength to just explain his resoultion. He clears his throat and said, "I hope that my new life stays like this and I can learn how to be a better student, a better friend and also...make my dad proud. And to just live my life in peace and protect my friends more."

That kind of resoultion made a believer out of Shifu and he said, "I think you will do well within in the new year."

"Does the Furious Five have new years resolutions too?" asked Ruiz.

"Same as every year; get better and more stronger."

"And what about the Dragon Warrior?"

They see Po gobbling some of the noodles on his bucket, leaving them a little uncomfortable and Shifu disgusted and then, Po burps loudly and said, "That's some good noodles."

Shifu groans in embarassment and replied, "With the Dragon Warrior, I'm hoping he'll lose weight and not make a fool of himself and getting himself into one of his little exploits."

"That bad, huh?" asked Kazuo.

"But I know that he'll at least...and I do mean at least...try to do better."

As nightfall comes in, the kung-fu masters came out of the palace and into town and already there are several people coming out looking forward to the new year as well. Arizona and Musaki chuckled softly and they could see the entire valley decorated for New years. Arizona chuckled and said, "Wow. That looks awesome."

"Yeah, I know. How cool is that?" asked Musaki.

"Extremely."

Suddenly, they see Jo, Ichi, Fu, Kaguya, Ren and Naomi coming in from behind and Musaki said, "Hey, guys!"

"Happy New Year's Eve!" Ichi exclaimed.

"Same as you guys."

Suddenly, they see Zeke coming out of Uncle Mako's place along with Max, Samurai and Phoenix and Arizona was happy to see Max and he went over to him and said, "Hey, little buddy."

"Hey, Arizona." Max said, with a smile.

"Looking forward to New Year's?"

"You bet!"

Then, he looks up at Samurai and he said, "The birthday continues."

Samurai chuckled softly and he said, "Yep. I'm 18 now. The party never ends and I still wanna celebrate it on a night like this. It kinda feels weird knowing that I'm almost an adult, but still a teenager. It feels awesome regardless because I have a lot more freedom."

Phoenix scoffs and said, "Freedom? Dude, you couldn't even stay out late if you wanted to."

"Watch me."

"You guys coming with us?" asked Arizona.

Everyone exclaimed, "Heck yeah!"

Later on, they had this big stage in the Valley where everyone was looking forward to the celebration of New Years and Shifu came up and said, "I'm glad to see you all here on this special occasion. As this year comes to an end, we must look forward to what's ahead of us in the new year. I'm sure everyone has their new years' resoultion settled and we hope you'll accomplish those goals you'll see this coming year. Now, let's have some fun!"

The crowd starts cheering and there's music playing as everyone is having a lot of fun. Musaki then sees Naomi looking at the sky and he asked, "What's on your mind?"

She looks at Musaki and replied, "I'm hoping I have a better year than last time. It's just...I've never had any friends and most of them hate me for me."

He puts his hand on her shoulder and said, "I'm hoping you have a great year too. And don't worry. You'll be just fine. With me, anything is possible."

She reached out and gave him a huge hug and she said, "Thanks, Musaki. You're a great friend."

"If by friend, you mean your potential mate?"

Suddenly, he sees Samurai and Phoenix laughing at this and Musaki was shocked to know that someone spilled the beans and shouted, "Really?"

"Ichi told us everything." Phoenix added, while making kissy faces.

Then, he looks at Ichi and he let out a sinister chuckle and he said, "It was Kage, actually."

Musaki rolled his eyes at this and he said, "When this is over, you're so gonna get it, Kage."

Kage smirked at Musaki and he said, "Hey, you can't take the heat, get out of the volcano."

Naomi seemed kinda embarassed about this and she started blushing a little and Musaki said, "Pardon my cousins. They like to be a little...rambunctious."

"I see. I hope they weren't serious." Naomi added.

"They're never serious...at times."

Then, Musaki, Ichi, Jo, Kaguya, Fu, Ren, Arizona, Ruiz, Shing, Zeke and Kazuo went on the stage and as some fast music started playing, they started dancing. Jo showed off his kung-fu moves with a backflip with some breakdancing in and he ended with him standing in his hands. Then, Fu and Kaguya did some kung-fu dance moves along with some backflips and frontflips while doing tumbles.

Ren and Zeke did some dancing as well to show off their glow-in-the-dark bandanas when Ren jumps up to the stage and Zeke does the splits and Ren lands on the ground with a peace sign in the air. Kazuo, Shing and Ruiz does a backflip/kung-fu/breakdance move that got the crowd on their feet and jump up and does the anti-gravity lean on the left and the right.

And finally, Musaki, Arizona and Ichi ended with a breakdance with a kung-fu routine where they jumped up the stage, did a backflip and millions of twirls and ended with a pose saying, "SKADOOSH!"

Everyone in the crowd was riveted and cheered like crazy and everyone in the crowd cheered hysterically, including the Five and Po. Po pumped his fist in the air and shouted, "All right, Lil' Saki!"

Then, everyone else came and took their bows, making the cheers intensify and they got off the stage while Shifu was getting back on it and he said, "Now I don't know who will top those moves."

"That was insane!" Crane exclaimed.

"Yo, that was wicked sweet!" Mantis added.

"Best moves I've ever seen." Monkey said, happily.

"That blew my mind to the extreme." Viper said.

"You guys were awesome to the max!" Po exclaimed.

"You really impressed me as well." Tigress said.

Suddenly, another dance song was playing and the entire valley was dancing along to it and suddenly, Musaki and Arizona were the ringleaders for their moves. Every move they make, everyone else does and they followed their every move they can dance with. It was the best way to kick off the new year.

Suddenly, it was 1 minute until midnight and Shifu said, "It's time for the new year, everyone! Get ready!"

Everyone got ready for this moment to come in and when it got closer, everyone shouted, "10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

Streamers, confetti and fireworks were all over and everyone cheered loudly as the new year reigned in the valley. Soon enough, Musaki and Arizona were totally excited about the new goals they'll set for the new year. And then, Musaki gets to the stage and asked Samurai to come to the stage and danced with him. Another dance song was playing and both of them were dancing like never before and pretty soon, everyone was getting into it, like loving life as well.

Arizona joined in as well and so did the Five, Shifu and Po as they celebrated the new year together.

When it ended, everyone was cheering loudly and Musaki looked at Samurai and said, "Happy birthday, cuz!"

"Best birthday ever!" Samurai shouted.

Then, he looks at Arizona and he was smiling and said, "Told you this new years was awesome."

"And you made it possible. This is the best night ever." Arizona added.

"Mine too. Happy new years, buddy."

"Same to you."

* * *

><p>And that's it everybody! Thank you all for loving this story and for taking time to read this bonus fic! Ichi, Fu, Ren, and Kaguya are owned by Wonder Panda Tan-Tan, Naomi is owned by seylenagomez and Jo is owned by Jo 'Po' Navark. Hope you guys have a happy new year! Reign 2012!<p> 


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